


It’s called home

by vilelac



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Normal Life, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Pining, Winry has short hair, but she looks awesome
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-13
Updated: 2021-01-08
Packaged: 2021-03-06 21:46:59
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 50,199
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26435887
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vilelac/pseuds/vilelac
Summary: “You look cute when you’re nice” Something in his voice made Winry’s stomach clutch.“Yeah?” Winry leaned her hips forward, almost without thinking, and put a sarcastic smile on her lips. “What am I when I’m not nice?”Ed took a sip of his beer, his eyes never leaving hers.“Hot as fuck.”Or:Winry won a scholarship in Central University for her automail prosthetics and Edward is the badass student who takes personal projects and teach other students.
Relationships: Alphonse Elric & Edward Elric, Edward Elric/Winry Rockbell
Comments: 83
Kudos: 162





	1. It’s come to that

Winry left her house late that morning. Having spent the night unpacking all her things from Rush Valley and cleaning up the new apartment, she completely lost track of time and it was past midnight when she went to bed. 

The move wasn’t exactly what she had in mind. She had a problem with the truck – problems with the road – problem with finding her new apartment – it was the other side of campus and how was she supposed to know that? – and she found out the local market closed early on Sunday, which meant no shopping groceries until next Monday. She spent half her savings with food delivery and  _ why was everything so expensive in Central? _ At least her tiny apartment was her own, she didn’t have to share it with anyone, noisy roommates, like she did in Rush Valley. 

Needless to say, after all the energy spent unpacking, she didn't hear her alarm. She was walking up fast, almost running now, the rain from last night created pools of water on the sidewalk and thank the heavens she was wearing her boots.  _ Maybe I have enough time to buy a coffee. Maybe.  _

She barely stopped herself before colliding with another girl.

“Oh shit, I’m so sorry. Here, let me help you.” Winry blinked, easing herself. She was okay, but the girl had dropped all her belongings. She leaned, grabbing the girls books from the floor, before she noticed the pin "Rush Valley girl" in the girl's backpack. 

Paying attention closely, Winry noticed she had brown hair, skin, and looked like could lift her own weight at the gym. She was also wearing rain boots.  _ Smart _ . 

“Don’t worry, this happens all the time here. People are always in a rush.” She smiled easily, collecting her things from Winry's hands. 

“I couldn’t help but notice you're from Rush Valley,” It sounded more like a question than an affirmation, but the girl nodded and Winry offered a smile. “I guess we have something in common, then.”

And that was how Winry became friends with Paninya, who was in Central for two years after winning a full scholarship to study mechanical engineering in Central University thanks to a professor – whom, Winry found out later, basically raised Paninya on his own. 

Paninya had kind eyes, but her spirit was tough and her tongue sharp. She liked girls, dark jeans and folk music – not what Winry was expecting at all. Paninya shared her dorm with Lan Fan – an exchange student who talked very little and softly – and had a job an hour away from the campus, so all her classes were in the morning. 

Almost two weeks after the initial meeting, Paninya and Winry became quite inseparable. The two had hit off almost immediately. Winry didn't know if it was their mutual love for Rush Valley or maybe all the free croissants Paninya used to buy for Winry. Since their schedule was very similar, they walked to class together almost everyday. 

With the high boots, skirt and short blond hair, Winry sure had nothing in common with her friend, whose style could easily be mistaken for a tomboy, not that she cared. She did, however, notice the looks when they walked down the hallways. 

“How about that job? Do you have anything yet?” Paninya asked, on a rainy monday, as they entered their classroom. 

“Not yet, I called Granny asking for some guidance. She said she’ll call her friend tonight, so maybe by the end of the month I’ll be employed.” 

“That’s great! So, did I tell you about the sweet girl I met the other night?” Without waiting for an answer, Paninya continued. “She has dimples, Win. Dimples. The cutest one I’ve ever met. And she brought me chocolate ice cream! How about that?”

“That’s kind of weird, don’t you think? You guys went to a party and she brought you ice cream?”

“Yeah, maybe. But you didn’t see the dimples. And her abs.”

“Is she the one from social politics?”

“What? No, do you even pay attention? That was last week.”

“Ok, so she’s the red one?”

Paninya sighed. 

“Yeah, Winry. The red one. Wait until you date, I’ll forget all your boyfriends.”

“Ok, it's not even 7 am, please don’t start winry-needs-a-boyfriend discourse.”

“But Win, we have–“

Professor Knox arrived in that very moment –  _ thank you universe  _ – and Winry’s heart leaped. Her whole reason for being in Central finally arrived. Dr. Knox was the one who approved Winry’s scholarship based on her project, he was the person who would be responsible for helping her develop it. 

“You’re worried about the project right?” Paninya asked, noticing how Winry glued her eyes in the Professor and squeezed her book, unconsciously. 

_ That's the understatement of the year. _ Winry had to research, experiment, apply, study and report her project, and if they deemed not worthy by the end of the year, Winry would be sent back to Rush Valley University – where she  _ knew  _ her project would never leave the paper. She had already applied there and received a loud  _ rejected _ . 

Her project would have to be perfect, in all areas. On the side, she would have to keep her scores – in all classes – above seven and find a part time job to keep the bills, she couldn't expect Granny to pay for everything.  _ Yeah, that was gonna be a fucked up year _ . 

“I’ll talk to him after class.” She answered after the professor started to scribe on the black board. 

Noticing for the first time, Winry saw a tall guy with a blond ponytail and a red jacket near the professor’s table. He looked like a student, but clearly was not here to watch the class, since he was watching the students instead the professor. Maybe a monitor? He looked annoyed and bored. 

_ I bet he’s a jerk. _

She noticed his angular face, the size of his shoulders and the way he leaned to pick up a book from his backpack. 

_ Ok, but not every guy can pull a ponytail and look hot like him.  _

Professor Knox, with a cigarette in his mouth and a dark shirt, started his Chemistry class focused on human anatomy with a loud  _ all right, listen up brats  _ and Winry lost herself in the composition of the human body for the next three hours. 

* * *

“Are you Winry Rockbell, the new scholarship winner?” 

The golden boy, the one from her Chemistry class who could rock in a ponytail and red jacket, asked her as soon she walked through the door. 

After talking to professor Knox after class –  _ Oh, scholarship project right? Yeah, I don’t mess with that shit anymore. That’s Ed. Go to the Building C, they will fix you up  _ \- , she was informed her applied thesis would be held in a small bright room to her left.  _ Room 23C  _ said the secretary after she presented her information. 

The golden boy looked annoyed, disinterested, and kind of pissed. 

“Yeah, nice to–” 

“Let me warn you about something here,” As he said, Winry frowned. “I don’t know what kind of rumors you’ve already heard of, but if you came here expecting to hear each forbidden law, you’re wasting your time.” He sat leaned against the table, his expression ready to dismiss her without a blink. “I clarify that to every single person that joins. Don’t feel like it’s something personal.”

Well, that made her feel better. 

“I appreciate the heads up, but the only rumors I pay attention to are the ones beneficial for my situation. Like the fact you like a summary of our personal projects.” Winry came prepared. 

She knew her thesis was fifty pages long and very few people would remember everything. Ready to face a professor, she wrote a summary for them. As he answered, “Touché, let’s see what you got, Rockbell.” Winry delivered her paper. 

He took and read every word for what it felt like an hour. He read it again, and after almost fifteen minutes of silence, she started to get worried. Could she be turned out? Here? After all the selection process, the move, the three weeks already in classes? 

Before her imagination got the best of her, he stood up and looked at her. 

“I’d like to personally assist you in this project and finance it.” 

She blinked, processing his words. 

“What?” Winry blushed as he blurted out. 

“You heard me. Take your time to think about it, I will read your investigation to see where I can help you with.” He had a convinced look on his face, completely different from ten minutes earlier. 

“...But why?” He delivered her paper as he walked to the table. 

“Personal reasons. Now go take a seat.” 

Winry sat at the nearest chair. Her mind still trying to understand the whole exchange, he was already opening a small leather notebook –  _ Did he just take it out from his pocket? _ – and started to write. 

“Okay, first: I don’t even know your name. Second:  _ you _ assist me? Isn’t that a professor’s job? Aren’t you a student? And last: I thought the finance came from the scholarship, what do you mean  _ you’ll finance it? _ ” Winry blurted, looking for his eyes. 

“Professor Knox approved your project for the board, but I’m the one who’ll bring it to the real world, so yes, I’ll assist you for the next year. All your reports will come to me. And the major finance comes from the scholarship, but the development of new studies – test analysts and laboratory experiments – will come from my fund.” As he explained, his hands moved rapidly over the pages, she noticed his hair was even more clearer in the sunlight. 

“Okay, got it. As the development of new studies, I’ll need your approval for any running tests?” Winry’s brain was already moving fast. “What about the meetings? How many will they be? Can I make my own schedule? Can I run the tests without you?”

He stopped writing in his book and looked up.  _ How are his eyes the same color of his hair? Is that blond? Dark blond?  _

“Yes. At least three encounters per week. You can make your schedule based on my – but you don’t need to write your reports here, you can do it anytime, anywhere. And no.” He closed his notebook and checked his watch.  _ Who has a pocket watch? _ “Shit. I’m already late. Hm, I’ll send you by email my schedule and we work from there. Anymore questions?”

He was already near the door, hands on his pocket and he only turned to make sure she was paying attention. __

_ Gold, his hair is gold _ . 

“Anymore questions?”

“You still haven’t said your name.” Winry frowned, annoyed that she was finally getting this guy,  _ her monitor assistant _ , the guy who would inevitably decide if her project was worth it, was kind of a jerk. 

He smirked, hand on the handle, only half body tuned and said “Edward Elric.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this is my first fic ever! I’m already apologizing for any mistakes, specially concerning grammar 🙈 (English is not my first language!). Also, I know zero about scholarships, U.S educational system and automail. I’m only here to see my ship fall in love and bone.
> 
> This work is totally inspired by this amazing art! (https://heavenin--hell.tumblr.com/post/625368119000662017/he-what-yeah-he-likes-beating-people-so). Make sure to check it! Trust me, your day will be improved. 
> 
> I’ll go down with this ship 💛


	2. Now you see me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello there! So two important things: 1) I’ll be updating every weekend (probably every Saturday), so we have a clear schedule! 2) I updated the amount of chapter, however this may change along with the story. I’m planning eight chapters plus epilogue but I might add some chapters in case I feel the need! Just a heads up here.

Winry walked hurriedly in the rain, hoping nothing would stop her. She was barely on time and honestly, it did not looked good to arrived late in you first day at work. Garfield’s garage was twenty minute walk from campus - which was great considering how many hours she would spend in that place.

After her somewhat strange meeting with Edward Elric, Winry got a call next day. Apparently, her granny had pulled some strings, talked to some folks, and her friend’s friend owned a garage and it was in need of some help. Growing up around motors and playing with wrenches instead of dolls in her childhood, made working fixing up cars all day her dream job.

Barely stopping herself in front of storage and catching up her breath, Winry straightedges her hair and clothes. She was in Central for less than a month and she was already running to get to places.

A big guy, with brown skin and white glasses that hid his eyes, wearing a black jumpsuit greeted her. “Are you lost?” His voice was deep and with the amount of muscles in his arm, he looked scary.

“I’m Rockbell, Winry Rockbell. I talked to Garfield on the phone? About a job opening?”

“Ah, right. Garfield is in the back, just a second.” As he walked away, Winry took noticed of the six cars parked in the garage. Only two of them had their hoods open.

“Hey! My, my, you granny didn’t tell me you’re this gorgeous!” A tall, taller than the first guy, man appeared. Differently, his jumpsuit was pink with splash of purple and Winry could bet his skincare was better than hers.

Smiling embarrassed, Winry offered her hand “Thank you very much for the opportunity, Mr. Garfield. I won’t let you down.” He took her hand but his expression was sober now.

“Wait, sweetheart. You may be a Rockbell – you granny has a big name in Rush Valley, we all know that – but I’m not hiring anyone without seeing their work first.”

The guy who greeted her first – Winry could see now the name Miles in his shirt – brought her a toll box and a change of clothes. Garfield showed her the bathroom – _you can change here, sweetie_ – and pointed to her the car in the back.

“You have two hours to find the problem and fix it. If can’t do it, I’m sorry but you’re not worth my time.” Before Winry could ask anything, Garfield disappeared in a small office. Miles was already elbow deep in his own car.

Winry took off her sweater and put the jumpsuit on top her clothes. She had no time to spare.

Two hours laters and lots of grease stains, Garfield looked at her work.

He smiled and said “Yeah, Rockbells don’t disappoint. You start tomorrow, I’ll pay per week and for the number hours worked. Is that ok?”

Winry smiled big, happiness overflowing her. “Yeah, that’s great. How about schedule? What time do you want me here?”

“We don’t work on set schedules, as long as you deliver the cars, you can work anytime you want. Do you see the paper on the wall? You mark your hours there, and by the end of the week I’ll calculate and pay you.” Garfield pointed at a small brown paper attached to the wall, underneath a red clock.

“That’s awesome. Really, Mr. Garfiel, thank you so much.” Winry grabbed his hands and laughed.

Garfield smiled and pointed at Miles “You two are the only ones working here, beside me, obviously. He may look bad but he’s actually a nice person.”

As a cue, Miles looked up and waved a hand, a small smile on his face “Welcome to the time, blondie.”

Winry smiled bigger and waved back. _Yeah, I’ll fucking rock this year._

* * *

“So, how was the meeting last week?” Paninya asked once they started walking in hallways.

It was Monday morning, they just exited they’re Ethic Class and were heading towards the nearest table. Winry had exactly half hour to lunch.

The weekend had gone smoothly. Having time to spare Winry decided to clean her bedroom, shop for groceries, call granny and even got time to cook her favorite apple pie.

“Meeting? What meeting?”

“The project meeting, with Professor Knox?”

“Wait, I didn’t tell you?”

“No! It’s been days since I’ve seen you.”

“But I did told you about the job right? At Garfield’s?” When Paninya nodded, Winry continued “Well, it turns out Professor Knox only approved my project for the board. One of the students, Edward Elric, will be the one assisting and founding my project.”

Winry continued walking, barely looking to see if Paninya was keeping up. “He’s kind of jerk actually. Rude to me before I even said my name.”

“Oh,” Paninya’s voice was a pinch higher “The blond guy from chemistry? He’s pretty popular.. ”

Winry looked back and sticked her tongue out.“Ew”

She had a problem with popular guys. Being a blond girl with boobs and love for mechanics, she heard plenty of jokes from the popular guys in high school. Once she found it she didn’t need to follow social rules to be herself, she threatened to beat the shit out of them with her wenches and all the jokes stoped.

“For the right reasons, tho.” They finally found a table under a tree and started to unload their meal “He is really smart, got our college first place at an international competition.”

“Seriously?” _Wow_ , Winry though. She never met someone who went to an internacional competition, let along win it. _That seems big_.

“He offers free tuition too, but you already know that. And he beats the shit out of bullies.” Paninya had her mouth stuffed with food now. One of the things Winry found it funny and kind of cute; Paninya ate every meal like it was her last meal on earth.

Her words finally sink in “He.. what?

“Yeah, he likes beating people so much that Principal Mustang ended up putting him at charge of the fight club here. He only teaches people who need to defend themselves.”

Winry haven’t touched her food yet, so immersed in the story “So... he’s a popular athletic nerd genius?”

_And he is still has that hair? Not fair._

“Pretty much, yeah.”

“There’s gotta be something wrong with him. Too good to be true.”

“Oh Winry, he has a bad temper. And the rumors say he is sleeping around with Rose.” She only saw him twice and she already could understand the bad temper. Both times he looked pissed. “But you didn’t hear it from me.”

“Am I supposed to know who Rose is?”

“Oh, right. Forgot it’s barely a month since you arrived at Central.” Paninya looked up and Winry could almost see the wheels spinning. “No, I don’t think you two have classes together. She is a brunette with pink bangs. Really pretty. But I heard she lost her boyfriend in freshman year. Car accident.”

Winry’s heart clenched. She knew very well what was like to lose someone you love, specially at a young age.

“I don’t think I’ve seen her. But she’s fine now right? About the whole boyfriend thing?”

“Hm, I think so? I’ve never really talked to her. It’s one of those cases where I know someone that know someone that knows her, you know?”

Laughing Winry answered “Not really.”

“Lan Fan – my roommate remember? – dates Ling, who is in the Fight Club with Edward and therefore knows Rose.”

“Oh” Winry got the theory of it, but Resemboul was a small city where everyone knew everyone and not much was different in Rush Valley. People always knew everything about other’s life.

But in Central where the distance between the streets were greater and people was always in rush, was easy to see how difficult it was to maintain knowledge about everyone.

“Speaking of, how about the boyfriend hunt? Didn’t I see the coffee guy slip his phone number in your napkin?” Paninya had a fun look on her face. Full of expectations and affection, and a slightly mischievous grin.

Winry sighed heavily. Paninya would always, always, bring that subject and it was starting to piss her off.

“Pan,” Winry’s tone was enough to change Paninya’s face “It’s not that I don’t want a boyfriend. But it’s been a month since I arrived, could you please, please, stop with the nuances? It’s annoying.”

And thinking better, Winry may have hit off with the girl but that was too intimate for such a early friendship.

With a look on her face, Paninya seemed to understand all that.

“I’m sorry, Win. I was just.. messing with you.”

“I understand, I just have a lot of things going on you know? And It would be great to meet a guy, but I don’t like the pressure.”

“Yeah, I can understand that. Sorry, I won’t mention again.”

“You can mention, just not be so incisive?” Winry gave a small smile and Paninya relaxed. “And if the guy from the coffee shop wrote his number, he’ll be waiting forever.”

“Why? Didn’t like him?”

Laughing Winry finally got her sandwich “I threw the napkin away before noticing anything.”

Paninya’s laugh was loud enough to make two tables look at them.

* * *

“I’m late, I’m late, I know.” Winry entered the room, knocking the door with her foot and already apologizing. She seemed to always be late in this fucking city.

It was her fifth meeting with Edward and she was more late than the last time. _That definitely won’t improve his mood._

In the two weeks of meetings, Winry learned few things about her assistant monitor.

Edward was almost always late – she just couldn’t be more late than him - he didn’t care about Winry eating her lunch at the laboratory or about her 3 a.m emails wondering about the structure of compose nerve endings on the human arm. He always answered within the next two hours.

Edward was always wearing something white, red or black.

One time Winry saw him with a black thank top – someone had spilled coffee in his white shirt and boy, was he pissed - and she actually wondered if his biceps were natural. He had a pocket watch with chain – and yet was never on time - and a small notebook where he would write things. After the fourth meeting, Winry understood he would only write what he considered “important chemistry knowledge”.

Another important thing on Edward Elric: if she focused on their project, asked interested questions and raised very important concerns, Edward was fucking awesome. She could clearly understand why he, a student, was granted with that position; able to offer free tuition and to teach other students. He was smart and quick thinking. He asked the right questions and pushed her to think more, to think outside the box, to not stop just because she hit the wall.

That made their work function perfectly.

When they weren’t trying to kill each other.

“Again, Rockbell? Where the fuck were you this time?” He looked pissed. That didn’t scared her. She knew he had a bad temper and liked to beat people, but the first time he raised his voice to her unnecessarily – she responded a equally loud _are you insane, chemistry freak?_ And he backed down immediately – she understood he was all bark and no bite.

He was seated under the window, with a open book and crossed legs. His hair was tied up, as usual, and his face was blank.

“I’m already here. Isn’t this enough?” She started to open her bag, retrieving her books.

Edward usually recommend two or three books on the human composition per week. Which meant, these days Winry was sleeping less than six hours between her mourning classes, her job at Garfield’s and the development of the project.

“Not really. Can you try to be on time nexts meetings?”

“Can _you_?” She put the most sarcastic face she could manage and he just growled.

Approaching the table, Edward retrieved his notes and a huge coffee coup.

“Rough night?” Winry asked, finally noticing the dark circles under his golden eyes.

“Rough day. Got my ass beat on fight club this week.”

“Still doesn’t explain the dark circles.” He noticed her staring at him and touched under his right eye. “This one was a punch, three days ago I think. The other eye I ended up hitting the shelf.”

Looking more careful, she could see the strong bruise she’d mistaken for dark circles. Once his words were finally registered, Winry manage to blurted “A shelf?” while laughing out loud. That wasn’t the answer she was expecting.

He eyed her like she had hurt his feelings “Shelfs are dangerous you know? They have point edges and they are not child safe.”

“Right. I forgot you’re were fifteen. Have you hit puberty yet?” The angry he got, the more Winry wanted to mess with him.

She didn’t need to double look to know he was full grown man. Almost a head taller than her, with strong jaw and huge arms – from hours spend on the fight club – Edward was the definitely a man.

 _I bet he has a six pack under his shirt_.

“Oh, shut up you idiot. You’re the shorty one here, don’t forget that.”

“You should really consider stop, you know? One of this days, you will break something, whether fighting people or shelves.” Winry smiled sarcastically at him.

“Wouldn’t you like that?” He smirked. “I’d bet you would find my pain amusing.”

“I bet you would cry so much over the pain, you’d be annoying like a crybaby.”

“Hoy!” Edward sat next to her. This close, Winry could smell him, it was something citric, that reminded her of the ocean and a warm day on the beach.

Popular athletic nerd genius with great hair and on top of everything still smelled really good? Yeah, Winry could see why every head in the hall would turn when he walked. She had noticed him a few times around the school, most of the times walking a alone but other times he stoped to talk to her. Change the hour of their meeting or to delivery a book from library. Edward walked like he was disconnected from reality. He didn’t seem to notice the stares or the people around him. He was slightly detached with vaguely disinterested attitude towards everyone and everything.

Either way, she noticed at least two girls staring at her when he stoped to talk. It wasn’t until Paninya said something, that Winry realized that Edward Elric fulfilled the dating requirement of many woman.

That is, until he opened his mouth.

“Did you read the books?” Edward asked sipping his coffee.

“Of course I read them, what kind of question is that?” She opened her notes and started to organized them.

“Just checking, you hot head.”

“You dick.”

They glared at each other for a moment. He had a frown between his eyebrows but Winry could see the amusement in his eyes. She was barely holding a smile. Finding the study she needed, she opened the correspondent book and started to voice her questions and concerns about the ability of the human flesh support the metal implemented on the skin.

Edward retrieved his own notes and together they started to climb a ladder. It was small thing full of uncertainties on a shaky ground, but they were building something.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Thanks so much for the kudos and the love! I’m really happy and, again, this is my first story - I’m mostly writing this because I love EdWin and I just wanna see this babies fall in love in different universes. 
> 
> Again: this story was heavily inspired by an artwork. Make sure to check her tumblr! (https://heavenin--hell.tumblr.com/) 
> 
> 1) I have to develop this relationship before they start to bang 2) they’ll argue more.


	3. We’re running out of ice

Winry was retuning from Garfield’s when she saw him.

It was a late Friday night – very late – when she noticed the young man crouched near her apartment door. It wasn’t exactly safe for her to be walking alone at midnight in the campus but she didn’t have a choice. Three new cars had arrived at Garfield’s and Miles was traveling up north, which increased the workload on her. Plus the running tests phase on her project had just started on the lab and the flow of reports – at least four per week – had demanded more time. Winry’s only choice was to start working very late at the garage.

Her apartment was sweet little thing – small with red bricks – on the first floor. It had a clean sidewalk and a small lawn with a large and imposing tree in front. Her favorite tree – a apple blossom one – could be seen from her bedroom. She couldn’t have asked for a better place to live. However, at midnight with the tree casting a shade in streetlight and a stranger man crouched near her door, Winry was doubting herself. 

She approached carefully, securing her umbrella in her right hand. A wrench would definitely do more damage, but she left her tool box at work.

“What are you doing here, sweetie?” For a second Winry though the boy was talking to her, but upon close she noticed he spoke quietly to a little orange bound on the floor.

At this closed, she could see the stranger was petting a small cat. A small calico cat that had been living in her room for the past month. Well, _living_ isn’t the best word. The cat would show up in the middle of the week, usually on a Thursday and would stuck with Winry until Sunday night. She never understood exactly what happened, but during their month of acquaintance Winry got attached to the little kitty.

“Hm, excuse me?”

The man looked up, finally noticing Winry standing next to him. His hair was short and blond, just like his eyes. _He looks familiar._

“Oh, hello! Can I help you?” He continued crouched, petting the cat. He seemed very comfortable in that position and at the same time very educated.

 _Okay, maybe I can put the umbrella down_.

“Actually, that’s my line.” Winry said, without moving her eyes from him.

“What?”

Winry pointed at the dark door. “That’s my door. My apartment, actually. The one you’re standing in front of.”

“Oh,” The boy stud up, he was a head taller than her, maybe more. And he was wearing a formal piece of suit, but he looked young. “I’m sorry for the disturbance, but this is my cat, I’m just taking care of her,”

“You’re cat?” Winry looked over the little calico between them, without any collar and with a chewed ear. She was pretty sure this was _her_ cat. Week, her half-week cat. “Are you sure about that?”

He eyed her, puzzled. “Yes, I’m. This is Jack.”

“Hm, no, this is Socket.”

“What?” His face was showing confusion, his eyes trying to puzzle the situation in front of him “I’m not following. I’m sorry, but this is _my_ cat.”

“That’s funny. Because she lives with me. Half the week, at least.” Winry moved closer now, putting her body between him and her door.

After the initial shock, the boy laughed, a deep honest laugh and held out his hand. “I’m sorry for that. I’m the other owner then. I was wondering how did she got so fat so fast.”

Something about his smile was so familiar to her.

“She disappears every week and I got so worried. But she always come back on Sundays.” He shrugged his shoulders. “I was just coming home when I saw her here.”

Something about him reminded her of someone else. The way his eyes crouched when he smiled, his rich voice, the air he carried his body. But mostly, _his hair_.

“I’m sorry to ask, but don’t I know you from somewhere?”

“I don’t think so, I’m a junior. Only been here for a while.” Well, he sure didn’t dressed as one. Why was a junior in a suit?

“Oh” _Is his hair gold? Like_ his _gold?_ “I’m sorry, but do you know a guy named Elric? Edward Elric?”

Laughing out loud, he said “Actually, I do. Why?”

“I work with him. Edward. Actually, he works with me? I’m not sure here. But we work together. His my assistant monitor.”

“Oh!” A recognition look was stamped on his face, he pointed at Winry with a excited look on his eyes “So you’re the gearhead!”

“Yeah! We are in the project of development of automail prosthetics and he – Wait, what? Gear head?” Winry looked outraged “What do you mean _gearhead?_ I can’t believe that asshole calls me to other _people_ , it’s bad enough when he says to my face.”

Smiling big and with a pleased face, the guy pointed at his chest “He does, but that’s only because I live with him. I’m Alphonse Elric, his younger brother.”

That’s why he was so familiar. Aside from the short hair, the height and the polite conversation, Alphonse did look like his brother.

Almost four months working with that jerk and not once he mentioned a relative.

“Are anymore of you Elrics? Because I see your brother almost everyday for the past four months and not once he mentioned siblings.”

“Yeah, brother is very private.”

“That’s one way to put it.” Winry had the most sarcastic face she could manage.

Alphonse laughed and looked at the small kitty “Apparently, we are parents, you and I.”

“I guess so,” Winry smiled and relaxed her body “Isn’t this a small campus?”

And that’s how she got to meet the nice and civilized Elric.

Alphonse was nothing like his brother. After their initial talk, they exchanged phone numbers – _we do have a kitten and an asshole brother to take care –_ and she found out very quick that Al was funny, kind and really nice guy. He really embodied the hole “younger brother” vibe which made Winry happy.

Three days later after they decided Jack/Socket needed a collar with a identification tag on it because _what if someone took her from us, Winry? We can’t let that happen_ Alphonse appeared for the first time in Building C. Winry was siting on her bench, finishing her last report about the bending structures of chrome and it’s connection to the human skin when the short-haired Elric appeared at the door.

“Hey! I need to talk to you. Are you free now?” Al stood at the door, his body halfway leaned forward and worry look on his face.

Winry looked at her report – two pages left to finish – and nodded at him.

“Great. Hm, where’s brother? Isn’t he supposed to be here?” Al used the chair in front of her to sit. Unlike his first night, he was dressed casual, orange sweater and jeans.

“He’s late. As usual” Winry grimaced “But what happened? You look worried.”

“Yeah, it’s Jack.”

“Socket.” Winry replied without thinking. The question of the name was little troubled between the two of them.

“Why Socket? It makes no sense.”

“Why Jack? That’s technically a male name.

“Well, I though she was a male when I first saw her.”

“I gather you didn’t know calicos are almost always females?” Winry barely contained her smile looking at Alphonse trouble face.

“I gather you did?” When Winry laughed out loud, Al continued “Still it’s better _Socket._ ” 

“Hoy, Socket it’s my favorite wrench. I use it everyday at the shop.”

Al had a blank expression on his face, like he was not believing what he heard.

“First: a wrench? And second: shop?”

“I grow up using wrenches all my life, Al. They are really helpful with a lot of things ok? And yeah, I work at Garfield’s.” When Alphonse didn’t answered, she continued with a sighed. “The garage? It’s a twenty minute walk from here. I work there fixing cars.”

“Really? Wow, I think brother’s nickname for you very suiting now.”

“ _Alphonse Elric.”_ At Winry’s death glare, Al stoped the teasing.

“Sorry. Anyway, I think she needs a vet.”

Winry took thirty seconds to understand they were back talking about Socket.

“What? Why? Something happened?”

“Her belly is really large.”

Winry looked at him, blank expression “She’s fat, Al. We all know that.”

His face frowned, a small crease appeared between his eyebrows “I think is more than that. Her belly is very round. It looks like she swallowed a small ball.”

“Maybe she has.”

“Winry. I’m serious.” His eyes were big and he had a pout.

 _He looks like a golden retriever puppy_.

Which was a fitting analogy because if anything Al was nice, and kind, and happy, and everything you expected of human version of a golden retriever. Winry sighed. She haven’t seen Socket this week yet, but if Al was this worried..

“Okay. We’ll take her.” A pleased smile appeared on Al’s face “Do you know anyone?”

“Not really. But I’ll look it up.”

“Okay then. Talk to them and let me-” Edward choose this moment to burst in to the room.

Sweating like a pig, white tank top and a messy bun, he looked like a mess.

“Don’t even start on the late hour, I had shit to do.”

_Why is he always in such a bad mood?_

Although, to be fair, Winry knows that Edward was like this for the outside world. Like a mask for the unsolicited people who barge in his life.

He was a _jerk_ , the one who sends her seventeen texts messages just because she mistakes the word “mechatronic” in her one a.m emails, the one who consistently tells her that she has the worst handwriting he’s ever seen and wonder _how did you graduated from seven grade?_ The one who always make disgusting faces for her daily cappuccino just because his lordship _hates milk_.

He’s also the one who helped Sheska – the small brunette with big glass that currently is in Winry’s Sociology class – when a bunch of athletic jocks decided it would be funny to bump into her while she was carrying approximately twelve books. Edward was the first to bend down and start to help her. A week later two of the athletic beasts turned out with their arm broken in a way that it was impossible to be a natural cause. However, they refused to tell who did it. Winry had a clue.

He’s also the one who gave up his entire dinner for her – the biggest egg sandwich Winry has ever seen – because Winry spend four hours at the lab trying to decipher the connection between nerve endings and primary machines and she almost passed out because she missed lunch – she was already running late and she kind of forgot? – and he proceeded to scold her for the remaining thirty minutes calling her an idiot. 

Edward was also the one who seems to always have a protein with chocolate bar on his backpack – he ate approximately ten thousand calories a day – and when Winry seemed dizzy after a long day, he promptly took one out and handed it to her. It was only later, on her way home, she remembered Edward hated chocolate.

And there was this one time after the almost-passing-out-incident where both of them left the lab so late at night that Edward decided to call her the moment they parted ways and talked to her on the phone until she was inside her apartment.

“I bet she’s already used to your lateness, brother.” Al answered with a big grin on his face and only then the older Elric noticed another person on the room.

“Al. What are you doing here? Something happened?” Edward’s face changed from snappy to worried in a matter of seconds.

“No, everything’s fine. I’m just talking to Winry about Jack.”

“Socket.” She already knew this debate would last forever.

“Let’s not start, shall we?” Al turned to her, a laughter on his eyes.

“Wait. What? Who? And how do you know Winry?” Edward was standing in front of his brother now, hands on the waist. Still sweating, still red from exercise – _I bet he was in the fight club and that’s why he’s late –_ and with now a confused look on his face.

“I _told_ you brother. The kitten? Jack? And she lives half-week with Winry. We kind of meet by chance, actually.”

“You and the cat?”

“What? No! Me and Winry. Brother, pay attention.” Alphonse made an indignant tone. “I’ve already told this story, remember? The night I went on a date with Mai?”

Edward still had the confused look, his eyes jumping from Winry to Al. So, he was on a date the night they met? And he wore a suit?

_Can Al be cuter?_

“Seriously brother, for someone who was called a child prodigy you are way slow.”

“Oh, shut up Al. Look, I got things to do.” He eyed Winry and noticed her report open. “Why don’t you leave? Don’t you have class?”

“Yes, I do.” Alphonse turned to Winry and added. “I’ll text you about the vet. And also, I’m throwing a party next week, I’ll be really happy if you’d come.”

“Hm, sure. Text me the details ok?” Winry smiled as the Al smiled even bigger.

Before he left the door, he added “Also, if you wanna bring someone, that’s okay.” and manage to disappear before Winry could answer.

Tuning back to look at Edward, he had a suspicious expression on his face “Since when did you became so close to my brother?”

“Since when do you smell like a pig?” For once, Edward manage to be ashamed. His face was suddenly red and he took two steps back from her.

“I was in the fight club.” _I knew it._ “And I was late and had to run to get here. Didn’t have time to shower yet.” She almost here the implicit _sorry_ at the end of the sentence.

Seeing his discomfort, Winry couldn’t help to ease him. “That’s ok. It’s not that bad, I’m mostly messing with you.”

He had na open expression and before he said anything, she added “And I met Al a few days back, we do share a cat apparently. She lives half-week with me and half-week with you guys. We exchanged numbers so we could talk about how to take care of her.”

“Oh, the little shit. I’ve seen her around the apartment but I think she hates me.”

“I can’t imagine why.” Winry said with the most innocent face she could manage and Ed saw right through her provocation.

“Oh shut up.”

He sat two benches away from her – probably avoiding contact due his smell – and proceeded to open his backpack and take of his books.

“So, the last report you talked about the dissonance on the carbon composition in the body over the chrome structure on the metal. Any idea why that happened?”

Winry enthusiastic started to monologue over the thing she loved most: metal engines. Before she could be embarrassed, she could see Edward’s patience look and she smiled internally.

* * *

“How is this place so packed?” Paninya asked over the loud noise. That was a great question. They just entered the apartment and it already seemed too small for so many people. “How many people does this kid knows?”

Winry eyed the crowd looking for any familiar golden hair “I don’t know, but Al’s pretty friendly.”

It was Friday night and although it was chilly outside, Winry choose a small black dress that glued to her body like a second skin and it did wonders to her boobs. With her short hair and ear full of earrings, she looked like a badass.When Paninya met her outside her apartment, her greeting was “You look hot” and Winry was instantly happy because that’s exactly what she was going for tonight. She had been in Central for months and with her job, college and the project, she didn’t had time to party. So when Al’s party was scheduled for a Friday night and it coincided with her Saturday off, she gladly called Paninya and asked for company.

“Come one, let’s go inside. I have to put my beer in the freezer.” Al’s only demand was that each brought their own drinks. Winry carried her red wine in one hand and two plastic glasses on the other.

The path between the living room and the kitchen was a small one, but due the amount of people and the so many greetings to Winry – she realized she didn’t know most of them but somehow they knew her – they took more time than expected. Paninya stoped to greet a petite blue haired girl and Winry continued her way trough the kitchen when she heard a familiar nickname.

“Hey, gearhead,” Edward was leaned against the counter, a black shirt and jeans, the usual ponytail and a beer in his right hand. He had the same nonchalant expression he used while walking down the hallways.

_Why does he have to look so hot?_

“What’s up, chemistry freak.” Getting closer, Winry could see the kitchen was more empty, only Edward stood there. The few people moving around staying only to grab a drink than leave.

“Do you mind if I put this on the fridge?” She lifted her bottle, pointing to the freezer.

“My god, could you have a more girly drink?” She took as positive and carried on.

“I’m girly, what do you expect? Craft beer?” Edward took a sip of his own drink and eyed her closely.

“Considering your mechanic history, I’d say yes.”

“Why not create an entire stereotype right? I can build engines from scratch and still wear make up, you know?” Winry poured herself a glass of wine and leaned against the counter next to him.

She could feel Edward’s eyes burning on her face. Without answering her, he lifted his bottle in her direction.

“To you having grease in your hands everyday."

“To you being a pain in my ass for the whole year.” Bottle and glass hit each other and before she took the first sip, she saw a sneaky smile in the corner of his lips.

“What are you doing here?” Winry asked after the alcohol hit her tongue. She loved wine and it always made her feel light and breeze with just a few glasses.

“What do you mean? I live here.”

“No. I mean, at the party.” She looked over the crow, trying to see Paninya “I assume you’d be in your room hiding from all this people and trying to decipher the third carbon chain of the muscular nervous system.”

When she turned to face him, Edward had a grumpy look.

“I’m not that nerd, you know. I do have a life outside academia.”

Winry eyed him expectantly, her eyebrows high and a laugh hidden in her eyes “Do _you_?”

After a beat of silence, he sighed. “You’re the one who talk, you literally have three considerable things on you schedule on a daily basis.”

“Yeah, but you know, I’m not like you.”

“What’s _that_ supposed to mean?”

“Ah, you know, antagonist.”

“ _What_ ”

“And unapproachable.”

“I am _not-_ “

“With this _great_ personality.” The sarcasm was dripping from her words and Edward looked like about to burst. Before he could say at least five curse words, Alphonse showed up.

“What are you two bickering about?” With his hands on the waist, Alphonse looked dashing with a blue shirt and the golden hair.

Winry crossed the room, a smile on her face, and hugged Al “Hey, you. Thanks for the invite.”

“Of course! It’s so great that you came. Is brother annoying you already?”

“When is he not?” Al laughed out loud and having her back to Edward, she could only imagine his angry face had gotten worse. “But nothing I can’t manage.”

Behind the two of them, a dark haired boy stopped, his hand on Al’s back. “Hey, man, I was looking for you. I need you help with Darius.”

Alphonse looked apologetic and Winry answered his silent question “Go, I just got here. I’m not leaving anytime soon.” He gave her a small smile and followed the boy.

Winry’s eyes scanned the room again. She could only recognized a few people, some she had classes together and others she attended them in the shop.

“Who are you looking for?” She turned her neck finding Edward watching her expectantly. “Your date?”

Winry gave up looking for Paninya and opened the fridge, helping herself to more wine. She barely noticed and the first glass was already gone.

“You could say that. I came with my friend, Paninya.” She was already feeling her warm, her cheeks were probably red. “I think you know here. She is in our chemistry class, with Professor Knox.”

“Oh, the one who sits next to you?” When Winry nodded, he continued. “Yeah, I’ve evaluated some of work.”

She returned to her place next to him, leaned against the counter. They were so close she could smell his cologne, she could see his biceps flexing under the shirt and the line of his neck. _Shit_.

Another side effect of the wine, one that sometimes was a gift but in that moment was more of a curse: everything remotely male next her seemed a good thing to climb and spend to rest of the night fucking.

Winry used to joke that wine was the only drink that passed straight trough the stomach and stoped at her pussy.

She took a deep breath. This place was getting warm by the second.

Winry looked up and regretted. Meeting Edward’s golden eyes, she felt even warmer. His whole body was facing forward, only his head was turned to the side, facing her.

Something unnamed, something deep and electrified passed between them, something that Winry could almost touch, something that felt as real as the glass in her hand. And she knew, by the way he looked at her, that Edward could feel too.

The same thing that happened when they stayed that one time late at night in the lab, when Edward dropped his pen and it ended exploding paint on Winry’s white shirt, and after she got out of the bathroom he was there, standing near the door, almost touching her. His eyes seemed so dim in that lab darkened by the night. She had stayed put, with his breath on her hair and her hands almost touching his abdomen. Then, he finally stepped back, allowing her space to move and the moment was shredded.

She convinced herself that was her own mind playing tricks and that current, the one she could almost touch, had been her imagination. Until that kitchen. And she could feel the same thing happening again, but this time was a crowd in the next room.

Winry was the one who broke the gaze. Even if she wanted this – and she wasn’t even sure of that – there was too much at stake. Her entire project, the one she’s been working so hard for so long, the one who would help so many people, depended of _his_ approval.

Even though they annoyed each other and treated each other as equals, the reality was different. Edward was the one who held the power in their relationship, he was the one who would approve or denied her project in the end of the year and he was the one funding it.

And deep down, Winry had a feeling that Edward had weighted all that on his mind.

He cleared his throat and looked at the crowd next door “I should go find Ling, he probably is lost or passed out on the sidewalk.”

Before Winry could ask what he meant, he slipped through the door and left her alone.

There was no way this weirdness would turn her night into something bad. She drowned the rest of her wine and opened her phone, sending a text to Paninya.

 **Winry:** <Where is the closest liquor store?>

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -So, just a heads up (CHAPTER SPOILERS HERE): there will be no interactions (romantically or sexually) between Ed and Winry while he’s her monitor assistant. As treated on this chapter, there is a power imbalance on their relationship and I think Ed would take the high rode here, just like Winry. That doesn’t mean there isn’t sexual tension 😏
> 
> -Remember when I said this would be eight chapter long? Yeah, I lied. With the much I’m writing, I’ll probably be updating to a 10 chapter story, but that still on analysis.
> 
> -Thanks for the comments and kudos! They really make my day brighter ❤️
> 
> -Just a reminder: updates every Saturday :) 
> 
> -Fun fact: the cat story is actually real! This happened in my city, the cat would swing houses and the owners only found out because the cat (male) appeared castrated. One of the owners put a small note with a phone number on the cat’s collar and they figured it out the whole scheme.


	4. There's no going back now

Without opening her eyes, Winry could already tell the room was too bright. She moved carefully, all her body feeling sore and her limbs weighting a ton. When she turned, her left hand met a warm body. Winry froze for a moment. Even though she drank almost two bottles of wine plus a shot of tequila last night, Winry was pretty sure she did not come home with any guy.

She remembered the Asian guy – _what was his name again?_ – hitting on her for most of the night and Isaac – the giant hockey player who was friends with Sheska – giving her a too long hug when she said goodbyes to everyone, but she was sure they both stayed at the party. With her heart beating a little faster, Winry pushed the covers aside and looked down. She breathed calmy when she noticed the short brown hair on her side.

“Paninya, aren’t you supposed to be on the couch?” Lucky for them, she had a double bed to fit the two of them comfortably. The girl barely noticed Winry’s voice, only grumbling in response.

Winry sighed and pushed her feet on the wooden floor, taking a deep breath before she got up. Her stomach was half revolting like an angry ocean ad half starving. She paused at the bathroom, looking in the mirror. She was wearing a white tank top and her black panties, only. Gone her dress, her earrings and even her make up. At least she didn’t look like a panda.

After she washed her face, Winry followed to the kitchen in a numb away, her eyes almost close. Even though she wasn’t hangover, she was still tired from the few hours of sleep. Her small apartment layout was almost like a loft. The kitchen – all white with her succulent plants on the window facing the street – and her living room had no separation.

When she passed her couch, she understood why Paninya had slept with her. A small girl was laying there, her glasses on the floor and her blue dress all wrinkle. Sheska.

_Ok, this part I don’t remember. How did she get here?_

Knowing she wouldn’t have answers before the girls woke up, she started making her morning cappuccino, trying not to be noisy.

It was still eleven in the morning, she slept less than six hours and even though that was Winry’s regular sleep schedule, she felt tired and all she wanted to do was spend the day in bed watching movies. However, she had to finish her book, take a shower and call granny on her way to Garfield’s.

Checking her phone, Winry noticed had six messages from Al and one missed call from Edward. Strangely, the missed call was in the middle of the night, while she was still at the party.

Opening Al’s text, she could see three pictures of Socket – one which she was wearing a baseball cap – two _thank you for coming_ and _I’m so happy to have met you_ probably sent under the influence of alcohol and and one picture of last night’s party.

Alphonse was in the center, smiling wildly at the camera, his brother next to him with biggest eat-shiting grin Winry has ever seen on Edward’s face, his arm thrown over Al’s shoulder. She was in the other side, Al’s arm around her neck, her glass of wine on her hand. The photo was taken in the moment Paninya made a joke about how many shades of blond existed in one photo and Winry was came out with a big smile, her face full of happiness.

It was a great photo. If she had time, she’d make sure to print it and put it on her wall of memories she had behind the couch. Besides being a charming decoration, she still managed to look at all the people she missed and loved.

“Isn’t a little too soon for coffee?” Winry startled at Sheska’s voice, looking up from her phone. She was so focused on the photo, she didn’t notice the girl approaching.

Sheska’s eyes gazed down, her face blushing in a thousand red tones. Winry looked down, trying to figure it out the source of the girl’s emabaressed when she noticed she was still wearing just her black panties in front of the stove.

“It’s not coffee.” Winry answered automatically, while plugging her phone on the charger and texted Al _how is everyone so drunk and so cute at the same time in this photo?_ Before she started the pancakes “And it’s almost midday, not so soon.”

Sheska was blushing, her eyes diverting to her feet and the wall behind Winry “I’m sorry. I feel like I’m imposing.”

“What?” Winry said without turning, focusing on not burning her pancakes.

“We barely know each other and I’m already sleeping on your couch.”

Winry smiled to herself “That’s ok. You can always help with the dishes as payment.”

“Of course, would like me to clean the floor too? I can do that?” Winry turned so fast that there were black dots on her sight. Sheska’s face was serious, browns furrowed in concentration, she reminded a soldier who just received his task.

“What? I’m _joking_ Sheska, there is no problem for you to sleep here.” Before she replied, Winry amended “And no need for payment, seriously. I was messing with you. I mean it, it’s really ok. So, do you want pancakes too?”

For a moment, it looked like she was going to argue. Then something gave in and the breathed, a small smile on her lips. “Ok, then. Yeah, I want some if you don’t mind.”

While Winry finished cooking, Sheska set the table. Once everything was ready, they sat down. After a beat of silence only filled by their chewing noises, Winry asked “So, how did you end up in my couch?”

“Oh I know Paninya.” Sheska cappuccino stopped midway to her mouth. “We have some classes together but last night a guy was messing with me and I was scared. Paninya saw it and ended up pulling me along while you guys were leaving, and it was already so late that yeah… I kind of crashed here.”

She looked apologetic and embarrassed, her eyes straying to the table and her own lap. Winry knew very little about Sheska, but she could already tell the girl was shy.

“Sheska, I said it’s fine. I’m really ok with this, don’t worry.” Winry grab her hand and forced the girl the stare at her eyes “And if this ever _ever_ happens again, you can crash here anytime”

The girl’s face heated up “Thanks, Winry.”

“And you should start yelling at anyone who messes with you. Don’t let idiots off the hook.”

Sheska laughed much more comfortable and calmer than minutes ago “Yeah, Ed always says he’s available to teach me how to punch someone.”

Winry eyebrows raised in surprise. “Oh, I didn’t know you knew him that well.” The only time she saw Ed and Sheska talk was when he helped her with the books incident.

“I’ve meet him and Al a few years back.”

“Seriously?” Winry stared at the girl now “I didn’t know this, he never mentioned anything.” Although she was at the party last, Winry assumed she was because of Al. And thinking back, Sheska looked pretty friendly with both the brothers..

“It’s not like Ed to mentioned something voluntarily.” _That’s an understatement_ “But yeah, I was working at the library – I used to be a monitor there – but I got fired for spend too much time reading and little time working."

Both of them had finished their breakfast and before Winry could get up, Sheska took the dirty dishes and went to the sink.

“You don’t need-”

“Payment, remember?” Sheska gave a wink and an easy smile, holding Winry’s reply. “Anyway, the first section caught on fire – you probably heard the stories – and Edward needed a few books for Alphonse’s admission exams. So, he hired me to write the lost books.”

“What do you mean, _write_ them?” Winry frowned, still sitted at her small four-person-table.

“Oh, right. Yeah, I have photographic memory, I can remember everything I ever read. And I did read all of the library’s books.” Sheska shrugged as if it was nothing and continued washing their cups.

“Fuck, that’s awesome.”

The girl turned to Winry, a funny expression on her face. Sheska’s smile in the corner of her lips “That’s exactly what Edward said when he found out.”

“Well, he is a jerk, but he is a smart one at least.” Both of them laugh, carefree.

After a beat of silence, Sheska continued doing the dishes and without turning to WInry asked “You two work together right? Or something?”

“Or something.” Winry answered, relaxing on her chair. The morning was beautiful, sun coming up from the window, a deep blue sky could be seen from where she sat.

When Sheska noticed Winry wouldn’t add anything more, she dried her hands and cast to the window. “Ed is actually a nice guy, once you get to meet him. He is just very protective of Alphonse.”

Something on Sheska’s voice made Winry look at her. Yes, Winry had noticed that. She noticed a few days back, from the brothers interactions, how Edward’s first question to Al was almost always _what happened? Are you ok?_ And how he always offered Alphonse his coat whenever the temperature dropped three degrees.

“Well, he is the older brother right?”

“Yeah, but due their history it makes sense.”

“What history?”

“Hm,” Sheska looked uncertain, her eyes traveling across the room. She looked at Winry and finally something settle down. “Al told me a few times, pieces of their story. Apparently, their father abandoned them when they were very small. Like five or six.”

Winry leaned forward listening carefully. Even though she sees Edward almost everyday of her week for the past four months, she knew very little of his background. 

“And their mother died when Ed was eleven. Pneumonia, I think.” Winry’s heart clenched on her chest. Just like her, they lost their parent at a young age. “But they lived in a very small town, I think it was a farm. So, they kind of lived there on their own for a while. Ed was just a boy and he had to take care of Al all by himself.”

“Didn’t they call somebody? Like Social Service?”

“I don’t know, but I don’t think so. They lived very distant from the town, so they weren’t many neighbors around. And I think Ed was scared, from what Al said.”

“Scared of what?”

“Of them being separated.”

For what little Winry knew about the system, Edward’s fears were not unfounded. It was usual siblings being separated in the adoption system.

“It was only a year later that someone decided to call Child Service and they were adopted by a couple not much time after.”

They were orphans? Shit, that’s something Winry never imagined. That explained why not even Al mentioned his parents. And she could understand in a level Edward’s actions towards his younger brother, now. He was forced to grow fast in order to protect someone he loved.

“Wow, I didn’t expect that.”

“Yeah, not many people know this, I think. I’ve never seen Edward talk about it. I think they just want to keep in the past.”

Sheska returned to her sit, leaned on her chair, still staring at the window “Do you mind not mentioned to anyone? I think they wouldn’t-”

“Don’t worry about it.” Winry replied Sheska’s worried look before she could finish. If anything, Winry knew very well how to be discreet. Taking a deep breath and smiling sadly Winry let Sheska’s story sink in. Remembering Al’s text from before, Winry shook her head. “Besides, I’m stuck with that asshole for another eight months and Al and I share a cat. I’m in for the long ride with those Elric brothers.”

Sheska smiled and Winry was happy to discover that the girl was good company. She noticed Winry's plants and they ended up talking a little bit about the pros and cons of having live plants in a college apartment, when they were interrupted by Paninya's shout "Did you save pancakes for me, Win?"

_How does she even know I made pancakes?_

* * *

“Somebody was up until late last night. Another experiment in the lab?” Garfield’s voice reached Winry as soon she walked through the large, rusty door to the workshop.

Winry stopped halfway in, looking at him stunned “How can you tell?”

“The attitude.” Garfield shrug, his expression nonchalant.

Winry chuckled at him and said no with her head “Late party actually.”

Just like any other workshop, Garfield’s was packed and had grease stains all over the place. There wasn’t a single white cloth in place. She liked that place and it’s owner. He was nice, and funny and respected her space, he had patience to teach her and paid her well. Garfield and Miles were a great part of Winry’s daily life and she liked that. Although, she had few conversations with Miles – he was very private – he always treated her well and treated her like her equal. He didn’t have the patronizing tone most of her costumers did.

Usually, most of their costumers were guys with nice fancy cars they didn’t understand shit about it. So, when they saw a cute blonde in a overalls they took an opportunity to say how nice she looked and _wow you_ really _can fix cars han? Who would guess that_. Winry had to breathe twice and control her twitching hand so she didn’t accidentally throw a wrench at their faces.

“You first here right? Party?” Garfield leaned against the hood of the red car while waiting for her to change her clothes. Miles was nowhere to be found, probably inside the office logging his hours.

“Yes, it was really nice.” Her voice echoed from the bathroom window. The day was too hot, so she folded her jumpsuit around her waist and tied the resto of her short hair with the green bandana.

“Did you meet anyone cute?” Garfield’s eyes had a malicious tone, with a smile in the corner of his mouth.

Winry gave a wink “Yep, I did.”

Garfield grinned and left her alone. He knew when to tease her and when to stop, and for that Winry was really glad.

She maybe insinuating she _actually_ met someone last night, in a romantic sense, but in truth she met a lot of people last night.

_“So, you’re Winry! I heard a lot about you” The little brunet Asian girl was smirking “I’m Lan Fan.”_

_“Ohh, you’re Paninya’s roommate right?” Winry pointed, her eyes bigger with surprise and her speech a little louder than usual. After almost two bottles of wine, the filter between her brain and mouth was completely disconnected, so she had to be careful._

_On her right side, Al was laughing next to Mai – who hugged Winry a little too tightly for someone so small – and Paninya in fron closing their small circle, talking to blue-haired girl from before._

_Lan fan had a wide smile and a malicious grin and, after introductions were made, kept saying Winry’s name in a slow and languid way._

_“How come your eyes are so blue, Winry? They remind me of a gemstone.”_

_If Winry had been sobber, she would have complained about their lack of distance. Although Winry was a very friendly person and loved to talk to people, she usually wasn’t much for physical interactions. Normally, she kept her distance avoiding people’s touch, just by natural defense. Alphonse was one of the few who seem to ignore that fact and hugged her tightly whenever they met – Alhponse and Lan Fan._

_“Genetics, I think?”_

_“I can see your genetics are really good” Lan Fan’s eyes spread across Winry’s black dress. If Wiinry had paid more attention to the conversation instead of drinking the rest of her glass, she would have seen lingering look on her cleavage._

_“So, what do you do?” Winry leaned against the counter, hearing distantly a loud angry voice behind their little group._

_“I’m martial arts teacher.” Winry choked on the wine._

_“No, shit. Really?” Her eyes widened “That was not what I expected.”_

_Lan Fan laughed as if she expected this reaction. “Yes, really. I can show you some moves if you want.”_

_“I’m too drunk for that tonight,” Winry moved her head to the side, the movement making her feel light and good, thanks to the alcohol in her bloodstream “Maybe another day?”_

_“I’ll take you on that.” Lan Fan smile looked mischievous, but Winry couldn’t exactly tell “What about you?”_

_“Oh, I’m a mechanic.”_

_Lan fan hissed in surprise, moving her hands on Winry’s face to remove her bangs from her eyes “And you look like that? I see the appeal now.”_

_“Looks like what?” Winry laughed easily “A drunk blond?”_

_“The hottest thing in this whole party.” Lan Fan was even closer now, her lips becoming closer by the minute. For a second, Winry thought the girl was going to kiss her, but her course change in the last moment and Lan Fans lips ended at the corner of Winry’s mouth._

_After a beat, Winry noticed the shouting from earlier reached them and out of the blue a golden ponytail appeared in front of her._

_“What the_ fuck _do you think you’re doing?” Edward had taken Paninya’s place –_ where did she go? _– and he looked sweaty, red and even hotter than before with that black shirt._

_After almost two bottles of wine and the almost-incident on the kitchen, Winry was keeping her distance from Edward. That and the fact he would problalby say something to piss her off and she would react badly considering the amount of alcohol she drank._

_Last time she noticed, he was across room, talking to some guys. The party had drastically reduced the number of people, now Winry could actually see the apartment – a wide loft with big windows – and noticed how nice that place was._

_It took her a moment to understand he wasn’t talking to her, but to the Asian guy behind Lan Fan, who currently had six breadsticks in his mouth and looking to casual and nonchalant for someone who was caught “Oh, hey Ed.”_

“Hey, blondie.” Mile’s voice reached while half of her body was beneath the red car hood. She pushed herself up, her gloves and her arms all stained with grease.

“Hey, buddy. How was the trip?” Miles had been travelling for almost two weeks, and even though they weren’t very close, Winry missed him.

“It was good. Cold.” He said with a smile, his grey hair pulled back in a ponytail and his usual sunglasses. Winry never understood how, inside the workshop where there was already little sun, Miles wore sunglasses.

“Oh, really? Where exactly did you go? Briggs?”

“Actually, yes.” He gave a small laugh. “I went visit some friends there”

“I’d never imagine that. You in Briggs?”

“Why is that?” He looked confuse by her tone of surprise.

“I don’t know, you always look like you belong in the desert of something.”

Miles body went rigid for a moment. “Hm, I guess you can say that.”

“Did you live there?” Winry asked after a beat of silence. For a moment, it looked like Miles wasn’t going to answer. Winry knew very little about the man, so this was a great opportunity.

“You can say that. I was in the military for a while, but then I left.” He looked everywhere but her face.

“Left? People don’t just _leave_ the military, do they?”

“I don’t know.” Miles shrugged, his expression nonchalant, and for a moment Winry thought he was putting too much effort in look disinterested. “I better start on my car, see you” He walked away without waiting for her answer.

_That was weird._

Three hours later, Garfield showed up by her side, sweating and breathing hard.

“You okay?” Winry asked before he said anything. He looked a moment away from a heart attack.

“Yes, I just had to carry a heavy piece over there.” He pointed at the shop entrance “There’s someone waiting for you.”

“Who?”

“I don’t know, but he is cute. Maybe you met him last night?” Garfield’s eyebrows were arching, his eyes playful and a sly smile on his face “But you if don’t want him, I’m available.” His tone was full of ulterior motives.

“Funny. I’ll be right there.” Winry tied the screwdriver she was holding before she got up. Taking a deep breath and a sip of her water, she threw her leather gloves and followed outside.

Even with the overalls tied at her waist, her black top and her short hair tied, Winry was burning up. The garage was very hot in that Sunday afternoon.

It turns out _someone_ was Alphonse, looking sloppy in a blue shirt and dirty hair. On his right hand, was a bike.

“Hey, you. What you’re doing here?”

“Win!” Al smiled big, his face a little tired but nonetheless happy. “I kind of need your help.”

“What happened?”

“I fell. I went for a ride and there was this wooden bench and I thought I’d be able to get through – you know, jumping – but it turns out I didn’t make it and I ended up falling.”

“Holy shit, are you ok?” Winry got close, her eyes roaming over Alphonse looking for any serious injuries.

“Yes, I’m fine,” Al chuckle, clearly dismissing her worried tone “But my bike is broke.”

“Oh, ok." Winry was still worried, not caring about his damn bike.

_Maybe I should call Ed? He looks like he fell hard._

“So, can you fix it?” Alphonse’s voice brought her back. He turned the bike sideways so Winry could see the damage done to the pedals.

“Your bike?” Winry tried to articulate, not understanding what he meant.

“Yeah, aren’t cars and bikes the same?”

Finally understanding, why he was there, Winry crackled “Not really, Al.”

His face fell in the same second and Winry couldn’t help the feeling of protection inside her. She sighed and raised her hand towards the bike “Let me see what I can do.”

Twenty minutes later, Winry was sitting on the sidewalk, her toolbox beside her and a frown between her eyebrows. It turns out cars and bikes were nothing the same and fixing Al’s bike was more difficult than she expected.

Alphonse sat next to her, out of her way, but close enough he could see what she was doing. “So, you and Lan Fan hm?”

Winry’s head snaped back to him, her leather gloves almost dropping the grease chain “ _What?_ ”

Al startled, not expecting that reaction, and raised his hands in defense “Easy. No judgment here, I’m just saying because I saw you two talking last night.”

“Well, yeah. She is Pan’s roommate.” Al scratched the back of his neck, his eyes avoiding Winry “What’s wrong with talking?”

“Nothing!” Al was blushing now, clearly not feeling comfortable starting an argument. “I just thought, you know-”

“Clearly, I don’t.” Winry returned to the bike, trying to figure it out how to finish that before the sun went down.

“I don’t know, it looked like she was hitting on you.”

“What. She was _not._ ”

“I know her longer, Win. She totally was.”

Lan Fan hitting on her? They just talked and laughed and-

She did kept looking at Winry’s lips. And cleavage. But that didn’t mean much, half the people was looking at her cleavage that night. That dress did make wonders to her boobs. But before Ed showed up, she almost kissed Winry and-

Winry sighed “Thinking back, maybe she was.”

The fell in a comfortable silence while Winry focused on fixing the bike. When the sun started to set and Winry ended, Al’s voice made her look at him “I almost forgot, I was looking at last night’s pictures on my phone and I found this.”

 _This_ was a picture taken by Al when neither Winry nor Edward noticed.

It was a moment before her last tequila shot and after the Ling-six-breadsticks-on-his-mouth moment. Edward had taken Lan Fan’s place beside her and had said something funny that made her laugh, her head bend down and eyes close. Edward’s expression was sober and unsmiling, but his eyes were shining staring at Winry’s smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy fma day, bitches


	5. How it started

Winry closed her locker taking her white long coat and her book bag, when she noticed a large shadow beside her. She jumped before she noticed it was Edward by her side.

The hallway was almost empty, except for the cleaning team. It was too early to start classes. Winry decided she could study a little with Paninya for their History Class – not her best grade so far – before the lecture actually begin.

“Holy shit, you scared me, Ed.” Winry said after her heart recovered.

“So, my pipe just broke.”

Winry stared at him, hoping her eyes would convey her shock.

“Ah.. what?”

“My pipe. It broke this morning.” Edward answered, talking slowly as if she were a child.

Without moving her eyes from him Winry wondered if he finally had gone insane. Or if he had second intentions and decided that _now_ – at seven a.m on a Wednesday morning with no one around – was the best time to throw sexual innuendos at her.

“Is that a euphemism for something?”

“Han? No. My sink, my kitchen sink. The pipe broke and there’s water everywhere and now Al is freaking out.”

She noticed Ed was wearing a white shirt – from the wrinkles looked like he slept with it – and a red jacket. Unlikely his everyday look, his hair was down, in a cascade flow of gold.

“So? Call a plumber.”

“No, that would take to long. And it would cost a fortune. You can fix it right?”

Winry sighed heavily, her patient wearing out. She was getting more annoyed every minute in this conversation.

“Is this one of those things? Like your brother’s bike? You know, just because I work at a garage and fix cars doesn’t mean I can fix a kitchen sink.”

“ _Can’t_ you?” Edward looked at her expectantly, his head inclined and a smile in his eyes. He knew her and therefore already knew the answer.

After a beat of silence, she sighed in defeat. “I can, but that’s not the point.”

“Actually, it is. So, when do you have a free period? I kind of need this fix urgently.”

Winry looked at her wristwatch. If she ditched Paninya, she could help Edward and still make to her class. But lose her study? She really needed this time.

“What? No, I’m not doing this.”

“Please. Al has work in thirty minutes and he won’t leave unless he knows everything is fine.”

Winry eyed him suspiciously, not buying for a second that story.

Al worried? Yeah, that was plausible – he message her _everyday_ about the cat – but Edward freaking out this much? With this rushed tone of voice? Over a sink? Nope.

Edward groaned. His patience was thinner than hers. He ran his hand through his hair, looked at the ceiling before his eyes finally retuned to her.

“Al is worried, but I really need your help. A plumber would take at least two hours and my fost-” Edward stopped himself, like he was caught saying something he shouldn’t have.

Winry could only assume what he would say, but nonetheless she remained silent. It felt like something big was about the come from Edward’s mouth and she’d feel like an intruder if she asked something.

Like she wasn’t worthy, _yet_ , of this knowledge.

“My teacher. She’s coming today, to celebrate Al’s birthday.” He finally continued after the long silence. “She would _kill us_ , if she saw the kitchen in that state.”

Winry sighed in defeat, again. S _eriously, when is this guy asking something and I’m not doing it?_

“You owe so big for this.” Before she finished, Ed was grinning. Smile big on his face. Before he could gloat, she continued. “I have a forty minutes window now, but I need to stop at Garfield’s to pick my toolbox and my overall.”

“What? Why?”

“I need tools Edward. How do you think I’m gonna fix it? With my mind?”

“No, the overall. Isn’t that thing filled with grease stains?”

 _God, give me patience_.

“If you think I’m about to dirty my dress with that mess, you’re terrible wrong.” Edward stepped back and his eyes roamed over Winry’s body finally noticing her thick black dress, stockings and her high boots.

Somewhere in the night, the temperature has dropped enough that Winry considered picking up her scarf to protect her neck this morning. She loved har short hair – one could see perfectly her silver earrings – but the downside was the cold neck.

“I’ll pick your toolbox and the _overall_ at Garfield’s and meet you at my apartment. Deal?”

“He doesn’t know you. Garfield.”

“Text him saying I’ll be there in ten minutes.” Edward was already moving,

“What? No way you can get there in ten minutes on foot.”

“You’ve never seen me run, gearhead.” Before Winry could reply, Edward was gone.

Picking up her phone, she texted Garfield.

 **Winry:** <A tall blond guy with long hair and red jacket will be there in ten minutes to pick up my toolbox. Do you mind give it to him? I’ll have it back by the afternoon>

 **Mr. Garfield:** < _Is that the same kid who was here last week? To fix his bike?_ >

 **Winry:** <No, that’s the younger brother. The short hair one>

 **Mr. Garfield:** < _These brothers keep showing up, don’t they?_ >

Winry could almost hear the mischievous tone in Garfield’s voice. She left her bag with all her books in her locker and put on the coat and started running. If she finished this fast, she still could study a little before the class.

Winry turned the hall, bumping at Paninya.

“Oh, good. You’re here. I can’t study now, Edward’s pipe broke and I’m help him fix it.” Paninya stared at her, with the most clueless expression Winry has ever seen.

“Is that a euphemism?"

Laughing Winry answered. “No, his kitchen pipe literally broke and Al’s freaking out. I’m going there to help.”

Paninya smiled and with the malicious gleam in her eyes, she replied. “Ok, don’t be late for class _gearhead.”_

Already running, Winry ignored the nickname and answered without looking back. “I will!”

* * *

Winry was late. She was so so late. She already missed her first class and was about the miss the second one. That was how much late she was.

With an irritated groan, she sighed “You owe so _big_ for this, Elric.”

Edward was currently seated on the kitchen balcony, both feet on the counter, eyeing her carefully. He knew he was fucked. Once she was out of here, she would find her biggest wrench and lodge in his head.

_A pipe broke my ass._

There was no way this mess – this apocalyptic proportion mess – was _just_ a broken pipe. Somebody must have dropped a grenade in his kitchen sink. The Elric’s apartment was an old one, industrial style with big windows and a very large living room, but that also meant the structure was old, the pipes and wiring needed urgent repair.

Winry was currently lying down, her back on the floor, watching the pipes carefully. Trying to finally fix them, so she could shower and leave. Her overall, her face and hair were wet with all the water bursting from the pipes. Thank godness she was able to change as soon she arrived at the apartment, otherwise her winter dress would be ruined.

“Yeah, yeah. I know.” His tone was tired and bored, as if he knew what kind of trouble he would be in when he asked for her help.

Forty minutes later the pipe was fix, the kitchen remained with two inches of water on the floor and Winry was wondering how she would make time for her class. She sighed, suddenly tired thinking about everything she still had to do and it wasn’t even 10 a.m yet.

“Okay, everything good.” She started to move hurriedly, catching her phone and closing her toolbox. “I gotta run, I need to shower and if God helps I’ll make it to my class on time.”

“What?” Edward had stepped off the counter, his feet splashing water and was looking at her in bewilderment. “No way you can make it on time, your house is in the other side of the campus.”

“Well, I don’t have a choice.” She replied angrily, pointing at her drenched overall and dirty hair. “No way I’m going to class smelling like sewage.”

Edward sighed, his hands on his pocket, annoyed expression on his face, as if she was a stupid child and he had to explain the basics. “You can shower here.” 

_What?_

“What?” _What the fuck was wrong with him this morning?_ “No, are you insane?”

“What’s the big deal?”

“The big deal-” She put her hand on her waist, the other pressed the bridge of her nose, sighing deeply and counting to ten to remained calm. “Even if I wanted, I don’t have my things here, Ed.”

“What things? You're gonna wear the same dress, right?" Before Winry opened her mouth, he continued shrugging, nonchalant expression. “And I have woman’s shampoo, so you can use it.”

"Why do you have woman’s shampoo?" She looked at him suspiciously and wondered if the lack of rumors about him was a lie and he hooked up with so many girls that he had a stock of shampoos and toothbrushes. She never heard any gossip about his dates - except Paninya’s about him and Rose, which Winry increasingly believed it was just a rumor because she never saw them together and the girl didn't even show up at Al's party. Not that it was any of her business.

He pointed his blonde hair, as if the answer was so obvious that it was ridiculous the need for response. “In case you haven’t noticed, they don’t make man’s shampoo for long hair.”

“Oh,” _That makes sense._ Winry looked at her watch, it would be faster if she showered here… “But I don’t have underwear, it’s no use.”

“You can use mine.”

“ _What?”_ Her voice was so loud and aggressive, Edward raised both hands close to his head, worried expression on his face, clearly not expecting that reaction. What an idiot.

“I bought my boxers yesterday, I didn’t even used it! I swear, they’re still packed.”

Winry sighed and looked at her watch again. Edward had a point, her house was across the campus and she would lose at least an hour to get there, shower and go back. If she showered here, she would make it to her second class and still have time for lunch before heading to Garfield’s. _How is this my life?_

“Fine,” She pointed her finger at him, furrowed brow. “But you won’t tell anyone about this. Ever.”

“Fine, I won’t.”

“Not even to Al, Ed! Or I swear I come back here and burst this pipe myself.”

“Fine! Jeez, why are so upset, I’m trying to help you.” Edward walked past her, pointing to a door on his right. “Here, you can use my shower. I’ll get you a towel."

Winry entered the room, expecting something completely different from what she saw. She always assumed that due Edward’s lateness and his difficulty in writing notes in a linear sense, he would be messy. Instead, he’s room was clean, a double bed near the window, the sheets stretched without any wrinkles. Stacks of books scattered on the floor, a small wooden table with a lamp on it near the wardrobe. Winry was tempted to open the wardrobe just to see if the shirts were hanging and ironed, but she was short on time.

Entering the bathroom, she hung her dress behind the door, took off her shoes and started taking off her coveralls by rolling down her sleeves and wrapping it around her waist. Only when she turned to close the door did she notice Edward standing there, holding a white towel stretched out towards her. Good thing she was wearing a bra that day.

Red cheeks and arms crossed in front of her, she mumbled “What the fuck, Edward.”

"I'm so sorry!" His eyes went quickly to the ceiling, his cheeks blushing with each passing second, embarrassment emanating from him. "I just came to give you the towel, I swear."

Winry snatched the item from his hand and slammed the door to his face. Shit. Shit. _Shit_. That was the last thing Winry needed right now, she was already showering in his house, already using his boxers as _underwear_ and now he had to see her half naked? When Winry started her project with Edward, this was the last thing she would expect to happen.

_How is this my life?_

Fifteen minutes later and with her hair smelling like mint – _that’s why he always smells so good_ – she emerged from the bathroom feeling like a new person. The good thing about having short hair was the how fast she was able to wash it. Now, her day could finally begin.

Winry left his room, towel shoving her blond hair “Your shower is really good, you know that.” before she looked up and noticing that the number of people in that house had doubled.

The kitchen was now completely clean and no water remained on the floor. Edward was standing in front of a small lady in a white coat and the biggest man Winry had ever seen. He was almost bagging his head on the lamp over the counter.

Edward eyed her startled, his eyes big and alarmed before he turned his gaze to the woman in front of him “This is not what it looks like.”

“Really?” The woman had a cynical face, her eyes crinkled in reprimand. “It looks like you’re ditching class to hook up with this girl.”

Winry flushed, her cheeks reddening, her words mumbling from her mouth before she could stop herself “No, no. I was just here to help and-”

“And she is already leaving.” Edward took her coat from the tabled and pushed Winry towards the door. Winry hand over the towel, her phone already in hand and a quizzical look on her face. She tried to explain she was actually there to help with the burst pipe but Edward’s gaze was enough to make her quiet.

Only after she was already outside, after Edward whispered _I’ll text you later_ she realized she had left her tool box and overalls in his room.

_Can this morning be weirder?_

* * *

He didn’t text her later. In fact, Winry got so busy with catching up on her second class, she spent her lunch taking notes from Paninya’s notes and only when she arrived at Garfield, she remembered she didn’t have her toolbox or her overall and _how the hell was she supposed to work?_

Before she said anything to Garfield, he pointed at right corner, near the entrance and said “The kid left here. The one with long hair? He came around lunch and said to give it to you.”

On top of her toolbox had a small piece of paper, Edward’s fancy handwriting could be seen in a simple _Thank you_ and Winry smiled internally. _That asshole_.

Three hours later, she was finishing her last car when she got a call from Al announcing they were celebrating his birthday that night and her presence was mandatory. And that both brothers would pay all her drinks and food as payment for saving their asses this morning.

That’s how Winry found herself in the oldest bar around campus – a cozy and yet dirty place, with wooden tables and chairs – squeezed into a small cabin between Paninya and Al, almost one in the morning with two shots of tequila in front of her. She was already starting to doze off, her eyelids getting heavy, due to the amount of drink she had.

Once she arrived at the bar, she ignored the menu and asked for the most extravagant drink they could make. Paninya inquired instantly about it and only received _I’m not paying tonight, they are_ pointing at the brothers, which made Alphonse smile and Edward groan in response, head down. Knowing this, Paninya made sure Winry ordered everything in double, making sure both of them had enough drinks for the night.

Winry staring at the menu, wondering what food would make her sober faster ordered when she noticed the last item “Look, Edward! I found your drink.”

She turned the menu to him, a grin on her face, her finger pointing at the item. Before Edward could say anything, Alphonse started to laugh out loud, while Mai, Paninya and Ling stared at them in confusion.

There, the last item said “glass of milk, U$ 100” the most expensive item in the house. Edward’s face tightened in anger – and Winry knew it was much more in response to her provocation than really anger – before he could curse her, Winry added with a smile “C’mon Ed, if you don’t drink your milk you won’t grow.”

“Shut up, pipsqueak.” Alphonse was still laughing between them when Edward glared at Winry.

“Pipsqueak?” Winry slammed the menu on the table, an indignant finger pointed at him “I’ll have you know I’m taller than the average height of woman.”

“And yet, a head smaller than me.” His eat shit grin was back on full force, his eyebrows raised in defiance.

“Jerk.”

“Freak.”

“Oh, fuck off.” Winry turned to the waiter passing by and asked for another around of drinks, not noticing half the table staring at both of them. Alphonse was already used to their quarrel, but to the others it was a first time. Not even Paninya, who was constantly with Winry, had seen this side of her and Edward.

“Ok, so. What’s the craziest thing you guys ever did?” Ling asked, his voice slur thanks to the five bottles of beer he had drink. Ling – the Asian guy at Al’s party with six breadsticks on his mouth – was a really cool guy. He was nice and easy – nothing like Edward – and he made her laugh with his comments. He had spent the night looking at her between his beers and only after he asked Al to switch places, Winry remembered he was dating Lan Fan.

Lan Fan the girl who was not present at the moment. Winry was happy that Al was too busy talking to Paninya to notice Ling’s request.

“Does running after a porcupine count?” Paninya asked, drinking her shot of tequila.

“I think it does. You’re the one who judges the craziness.”

“Porcupine? Did it throw spikes at you?” Al was looking happy, his cheek flush from all the alcohol and apparently the filter between his brain and mouth was already failing. His smile grew bigger every time he looked at Mai sitting across from him. She was a sweet girl, although she seemed very shy.

Edward was clearly pissed to be there, probably because he was the only one sober. His face said _the only reason I’m still here is because I love my baby brother._

“No, but it fell on my face.” Winry’s face was warm, her limbs were heavy and all she wanted to do was close her eyes and sleep. She rested her head on the back of the seat and closed her eyes as Paninya continued her story.

“That’s your craziest thing?”

“Yeah, why? You have a better one?”

“Well, I once broke into the Principal Mustang’s house.” At the sound of the Principal’s name, Winry’s eyes snapped open, her head went forward like a whip.

“What.”

“No way.”

“That’s a lie.”

“It’s not. It was through the window, it was dare by my fraternity to break in and take a personal item."

“And did you?” Mai’s voice was louder in surprise. The only one calm was Edward, who probably knew that story before any of them.

“Yeah. No. The security heard the glass shatter and I run away.”

“That definitely beats the porcupine.”

“What about you Al?”

“Al? I bet the craziest thing he did was to adopt a cat.” Paninya threw his arm around Al's neck, tightening his mouth.

“Hey!” Winry and Al exclaimed at the same time. “Just so you know, I once robbed a grocery store.”

“No way.”

“I bet it was a friendly grocery store.”

“And you stole a bottle of water.”

“Or a candy bar.” Ling and Paninya could barely contain their laugh as they teased Al.

“I’ll have you all know that it was a gum. A strawberry gum.” Alphonse tried to make a face as brave as he could with the amount of alcohol he drank tonight. It was his birthday, and even though there was no a cake, everyone had congratulated him by filling him with more drinks.

“Did anyone notice?” Mai’s voice was low.

“The cash lady saw it through and called me late in that day saying that my brother had some issues to resolve.” Edward intervened before Alphonse could respond. Everyone laughed while Al’s face flushed.

"How about you, Ed?" Paninya looked at the boy in defiance. They had never spoken directly before, and it looked like she was challenging him.

“Ed runs the fight club. This is already a crazy thing.” Mai replied.

“I have to deal with Winry on a daily basis. I won.” Ed replied with a sly smile, his arm stretched out over Al's chair and almost touching Winry's shoulder.

“Oh, shut the fuck up. You’d be lost without me, chemistry freak.” Winry took the last drop of her tequila and smacked the glass on the table.

“What about you Win?” Ling asked, his eyes full of ulterior reasons that Winry could only guess.

“Hm?”

“What’s the craziest thing you ever did?”

Winry thought about her life before coming to Central. Before having to fix broken pipes at seven in the morning and having a cat for half the week.

After a beat of silence, she confessed “I delivered a baby.”

Clearly, no one was expecting that answer. Paninya, who was getting up to use the toilet, stopped mid action and turned to Winry. Everyone stared at her, mouth agape puzzled expressions on their faces.

Mai manage to say a confused “What?”

“Really?” Edward asked, staring at her eyes.

“Hm, yes. I was delivering some groceries to the family when a sudden storm hit. They lived outside town, so the grandfather left to search for a doctor when the woman went on labor. Unfourtunelly, we couldn’t wait for the doctor to arrive, so yeah. I delivered the baby.”

“Holly shit.”

“You delivered alone?”

“The father was there, but he wasn’t much of use.” Winry laughed, remembering that night almost ten years ago. “He freaked out, so he just helped me with the towels and hot water.”

“Did you know what to do?”

“When was this?”

Winry stared at their eyes, not imagining this commotion over her story. The only one not asking questions was Edward. “My parents were doctors, so I kind of grew up with medical books. But I confess with was mostly instinct. And the mother, of course. I was fifteen, so yeah, it was a while ago.”

“You delivered a baby at fifteen?”

“Winry wins.”

“No one can beat that now.”

“I’ll get more drinks after that.” Ling shook his head as he stood up.

“Actually, I’m going home. I have class tomorrow morning and there are at least three reports to finish,” Winry stood up, staring with a fake smile at Edward’s golden eyes. “Unless someone lets me deliver in two days.”

“Not gonna happen.”

“Asshole.”

“Gearhead.”

“Are they always like this?” Mai questioned with a quiet voice.

“Yep.” Winry could see Al’s smug smile when he answered. 

After Winry grabbed her coat and bag, Edward escorted her to the exit. It was just the two of them, Paninya slid beside Ling, talking to him in a low tone and Al was holding hands with Mai, kissing her cheek.

“Do you want me to accompany you?” It was cold outside. Winry could see her own breath in the air when she turned to hear Edward's voice low in the dark night. He was wearing a black coat, white shirt underneath. He looked warm and patient, his gaze calm on her.

“Nah, no need.” She shrugged. “Are you sure it’s okay for you guys to pay the drinks? I have money-”

“That was awesome.” His voice stopped her babbling. He was leaning against the bar wall, his feet almost touching hers.

“What?”

“You. The story. The baby. You delivered a baby, all by yourself at fifteen.”

“Well, the mother was there too. And the father. And I kind of-” She stopped when she noticed the small smile on the corner of his lips.

“I spent years studying the human body and it's reproduction,” He looked up, to the night sky and all the stars. “And no matter how many times I read it, I still think it’s a miracle. Humans are awesome. I wish I was there with you, to see it.” When his eyes returned to her, they had a different glow on them. It warmed her insides.

Winry had her hands inside her coat and her cheeks were hot and, for the first time in the night, not because of the alcohol. She didn’t want to admit to anyone, not even to herself, but somedays she lived for that smile. That small smile on the corner of his lips, the one that said more than words were ever capable.

“Yeah. Humans are awesome.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not super happy with this chapter (I could rewrite it at least four times), but this what we get! I hope you guys have lower expectations. I'm really here just to see there two fall in love. The "glass of milk" in the menu is actually real. I've seen it in a bar near my house and I had to put it in the story. And thanks for reading this trash (!!) it means a lot to me.


	6. It's a leap of faith

Winry was shaking. She could feel her unsteady interior, a cold sensation like an ice cub sliding down her back, dripping onto her skin. Her right arm seemed to be burning, but she knew it wasn’t fire. A static noise in her ear drowning out any other sound; she could barely registrar the voices around her. She knew she was moving through the hallways, walking towards her class, but she was numb, like there was a glass between her and the outside world. 

_What I am going to do now?_

She reached her locker and felt more than saw a figure beside her. She could hear a voice, growing louder by the second and only after she leaned against the locker, did she realize that Paninya was frowning at her, her eyes bouncing between Winry’s face and her clothes in a concern way. “Winry. Winry. Winry. Answer me, what happened?”

She took a deep breath trying to center herself “I was robbed.” 

“ _What?_ ” Paninya almost shouted, a few bystanders noticing the frantic voice. 

Winry swallowed looking down, taking a deep breath and trying to calm down. Her body was still shaking from the adrenaline from before, her last memories rushed moments she now could barely remember. 

_Fuck. Fuck._

When she looked up, there was a small group around her, all familiar and concerned faces. She didn’t know how long they were there staring at her, time seemed to run differently when life threating situations occurred. Paninya was on the phone, probably calling the campus security. Sheska was holding a bottle of water asking her if she needed anything when Al showed up behind the girl with a worried expression on his face. 

Her voice was hoarse, shaky “He stole my purse, my books and my notebook, but-” 

“Holy shit, Win, you’re bleeding.” Paninya’s eyes were fixed on her arm, a horizontal cut across, blood dripping onto her blue blouse. From her minimal medical experience, didn’t seem deep, but the blood flow wouldn’t stop without a compress. 

_So, that’s why it feels like it’s burning._

“We need to take Winry to the infirmary, now. Paninya, call the campus security, tell them to meet us there.” Alphonse’s voice was firm, not giving room for discussions. 

“I tried to fight him off, all my researches notes were there but he pushed me against a tree and used the knife to threaten me-” 

“It’s okay, Win.” Al’s gentle eyes met hers, his smile calm and reassuring. “It’s gonna be ok. Why don’t you come with me? We need to take care of that cut.” 

Winry sighed, leaning her head against the locker, trying to rationalize herself, trying to stay calm and explain to her stupid brain that there was no danger anymore. She had never been in a situation like this, she had never been robbed, let alone with a knife in it. She reacted badly without thinking, trying to protect herself, because she was ready to fight him off, but when he pushed her onto that tree, knife on her neck, she froze. Her mind in panic, scared about all the things he could do to her. But now, when the adrenaline was rushing down, she felt useless, helpless.

Paninya held Winry's right hand leading her down the crowded hall, Alphonse on the other side, so close that Winry could feel the heat radiating through her body. They formed a shield, preventing anyone from stopping them. The sidewalk was still damp from the afternoon rain, the smell of wet grass and Paninya's hand was the only thing that kept Winry from shaking. 

The infirmary was the other side of the Campus, a small building painted white and blue, with only one secretary and a small nurse, around her fifties. The place was only for small emergencies, if anything serious happen, University Central had a functioning hospital within its perimeter. Once Paninya showed them Winry’s arm and explained hurriedly what happened, the chubby nurse called Anna guided them through a door on the right, while Alphonse stayed back, his phone on his ear. 

“You’re lucky it’s not too deep, sweetie.” Anna said after examining Winry’s right arm. Her blue blouse was destroyed, the knife tore the fabric and Winry’s blood running down the sleeve. It was one of her favorite blouses. “These types of cuts has a lot of blood, but that doesn’t mean danger. So, you won’t need stiches, just some bandage. You’ll have to change them twice a day and clean them up, okay? I’ll show you how, you won’t even notice the blood.”

Paninya had entered the room with her, for moral support, but the moment she saw the first aid kit, she turned away. Anna hands were steady and gentle, her eyes kind and patience, probably from the many years of service. 

“That’s ok. I don’t mind the blood.” Winry answered gazing the white wall in front of her. She felt numb, without any proper response to the reality in front of her. Once her arm had the bandage on and Anna had shown her exactly how to keep it clean, Winry and Paninya were sent back to the waiting room, where two security guards and two Elrics were waiting for her. 

Edward was standing near Alphonse, wide eyes. He wore a white hoodie, his fingers were bandaged and sweat running down his forehead. Clearly, he just got out from training and went straight there. Winry could barely look into his eyes. 

_How am I supposed to tell him all our work is gone?_

“Ms. Rockbell?” The female officer approached, drawing Winry’s attention. She had short hair, the back of her neck was all exposed and a mole under her left eye. “My name is Officer Ross. This is Officer Brosh. We understand you were robbed? We are here to help you.”

The young blond guard – Brosh, she assumed – nodded towards the three benches near the window. “Wouldn’t like to sit?”

Winry cleared her throat, moving her hands through her hair, suddenly feeling tired.

Paninya turned to Winry, grabbing her hand, an apologetic expression on her face “Win, I’m sorry but I gotta go. Do you mind-?”

“Pan, go.” Winry blushed, embarrassed that she had taken so much time from her friend. “I’ll be fine, don’t worry. I’ll text you later ok?” Winry smiled reassure and squeezed her hand as Paninya left. 

Alphonse and Edward remained behind the officers. Not too close to get in the way, but not too far either. They both looked very similar with their golden hair and eyes, but while Alphonse looked like a normal student with his red jacket and short hair, Edward looked like a street fighter with those bandages and a messy bun. Winry eyed both of them “You two can go, too. I’ll just talk to them and go home” 

Alphonse was already shaking his head before Winry even finished. Edward just stared at her in silence, and she could almost hear the _I’m not going anywhere you idiot_. Alphonse must have texted him explaining why they were there. 

Officer Ross sat next to Winry and cleared her throat. “So, can you tell us what happened?” 

Winry looked at her hands, concentrating. If she could give them a good description, maybe they would find out who did it and get her things back. 

“Hm, I was heading to the lab, in Building C, when a man grabbed my arm from behind. First, I thought it was a mistake, but then I felt something sharp touch my back and I knew it was something else.” 

“Did he say anything?” 

“Not at first. He just held me and then, when I grabbed my bag tightly, close to my body, he said he needed it. The bag.” 

Officer Brosh was standing near Winry, writing down in a small note pad. Edward’s arms were crossed in front of him, a frown on his face. Winry concentrated on Ross, focusing on what she could recall. She would deal with Edward later. “I tried to offer money or my phone, but he let go of my arm and started pulling the bag-”

“Was it an expensive bag?” Ross intervened, her eyes never leaving Winry’s. 

“No. It was an old cloth bag. My granny gave it to me.” Ross nodded for her to continue, “When I noticed he wouldn’t let go, I turned around quickly – I was able to hit him with my fist – but he was faster. He pushed me against the tree, holding me with his body, while he took the bag. Probably the knife cut when I turned.” Winry stared at her bruise, trying to remember the small details. 

“Where was this exactly?” Brosh asked, his eyes moving between Winry’s disheveled clothes and his note pad. Her hair was probably a mess and her blouse was dirty where it had been pressed against the tree, not to mention the blood stained on her sleeve. 

“It was between the History Department and the access to Building C. There is a small path between the outdoor tables, near the cherry trees.” 

“Hm,” His eyes moved to the window, behind her. “And what about the time?” 

“What do you mean? It just happened. I was robbed and then Paninya and Al brought me here. It was probably thirty minutes ago or less.” Winry frowned, trying to understand his point. 

“So, it was already dark, right? And yet you still went that way?” 

“What is that supposed to mean?” Edward’s voice cut the silence like a thunder. He was loud and angry and Winry had never heart that tone before. 

“Brother,” Alphonse looked at his brother, his tone contained a _shut up_ at the end.

“You’re suggesting this is her fault?” Edward continued, ignoring Al and focusing on Brosh. 

Officer Brosh pressed his lips in a thin line, adjusting his body so he could face Edward as equal. “I’m just asking questions here. Nothing more.” 

Officer Ross ignored the men and returned to Winry. “Did you manage to look at him? Anything can help us.”

Winry thought carefully. Before, she felt like a sinking rock in a stormy ocean; she couldn’t feel anything outside her body, couldn’t remember what had happened ten minutes before. But now everything seemed brighter, her memories coming back sharp. 

“He was shorter than me. And had black spiky hair.” She tilted her head, hand on her chin. There was something else, she knew it was missing. 

“Anything else? His clothes, maybe?” Ross’s eyes remained on hers, her calm and kindness radiating through Winry’s body. 

She had seen him very quickly, she barely had time to take a good look at his face, but when he pulled the bag, her eyes dropped. 

“A tattoo. He had a tattoo on his left thigh,” Ross nodded in agreement, looking at Brosh to make sure he wrote it all down. “It was a small circle, but it looked like a dragon? I’m not sure” 

Edward gasped, his eyes wide staring at her. “Like an uroboros?” 

“Like what?” Al asked, annoyed by his brother’s intrusion. Edward took his small notebook from his back pocket, the one in which he made his important notes, and began to draw. Thirty seconds later, he pushed the notebook in front of Winry’s eyes. 

“Yes,” She answered, eyeing him, feeling confident. “It was exactly like this one.” 

Officer Brosh looked at Edward cautiously “Do you know him?” 

“No,” Edward replied quickly, too quickly judging by Brosh’s gaze. Edward shook his head, eyes narrowed, his tone left no room for questioning. “I don’t.”

After a few other usual questions – including Ross staring at Winry and trying to make sure that she hadn't been the victim of any kind of sexual assault, in which Ed and Al paled just by hearing that word and Winry said _no, nothing like that, he really seemed more interested in my bag_ – a report was written, promises of trying to find him were made and Winry was dismissed. 

The evening was chilly when she stepped outside the building, breathing heavily. Clearly, their weekly meeting at the lab was cancelled after all the commotion. But what the fuck am I supposed to do now? Winry carried all of her work with her, all her research notes gathered in one large folder with her and Edward’s notes. But she didn’t have a backup, everything was writing down on paper, they didn’t have copies and now it was all gone. All her project ideas, all their development in the automail field gone. 

_He’ll freak out when I tell him._

Once Alphonse realized that he was late for his date with Mai and that Winry was safe and calm, he hugged her for a while and only let her go when she promised to text him later. He left with a careful look at his brother and it seemed like an unspoken agreement between them that Edward would take her home. When Winry turned and started walking, he followed her in silence, hands in the pocket of his white hoodie. 

Only after they passed the History Department, Edward announced, “The kitchen is working perfectly.” 

It took Winry thirty seconds to understand what he was talking about. “Oh. I’m glad. Your building is very old, so you have to be careful about these things.” 

Edward have never once mentioned the broken pipe after that cold morning – not even to thank her, except for the small note left in Garfield’s garage that Winry may or may not have kept in the drawer along with the photos that didn’t end up on the wall – so bringing it up now, weeks after the fact, was at least surprising to Winry. 

“Yeah, but you did a great job.” 

Winry snorted. Edward looked at her, confused. “What?”

“Oh, come one. Great job? You never once said that to me.”

“That’s not true.”

“Yes, it is. You’re always saying how my handwriting is the worst.”

“It is. You write like a five year old.”

“And that you hate my food.”

“Your cappuccino is disgusting. How drinks cappuccino with _milk_?”

“And how my organization system is a failure for the academic world.”

“Who has their own organization system?”

“It’s not my fault if you’re the messiest person I know.”

“Messy? Have you seen my room?” They stopped walking now, finally reaching the edge of the campus. There was hardly anyone at that time of the night, all the students in class and the workers already home. Edward stared at her, hands on his hips, waiting for her rude answer. 

“Yes, and I still think I fell into a different dimension when I entered there. There is no way your room is that organized on a daily basis.”

His mouth twitched, “Yeah, it isn’t. But Sig and Izumi were coming home that day and it had to be perfect like that.”

Winry leaned her head, trying to connect the dots. “Were they the couple? That I met briefly when she almost yelled at you for ditching class?” 

Edward sighed, scratching behind his head. “Yes, exactly. They came for Al’s birthday and teacher doesn’t accept anything but perfect when it comes to college or taking care of the house.”

“That’s why you didn’t want to wait for a plumber,” Winry smiled fondly. “She seemed nice, a little rough, but nice.”

“Argh. She is evil.” His tone was fond, even though the words were not. He wanted to smile; Winry could see the corner of his mouth twitch. 

Winry shivered for the fourth time in the night, after a draft made her hair sway. Edward noticed her thin blouse did nothing to warm her up and before she could say anything else, he was already putting his hoodie on her back. 

“Why are your arms so long?” Winry accused after raising her arms and showing him her hands covered by the sleeves. 

“Just roll the sleeves, you idiot.” Edward sighed and stepped next to her, his hands tugging the sleeves and folding them. 

Winry looked down, staring at Edward’s careful hands, his breath almost touching her bangs. She didn't realize she was crying, until the first drop fell on Edward's bandaged joints. _What was she doing?_ She had just ruined all their hard work and here he was, taking care of her in his own stupid way, and she didn’t even have the courage to tell him that they were fucked. 

He stopped folding the sleeves almost instantly, but he didn't move. He remained standing in the same place, breathing almost the same air as her. When she looked up, she found his eyes wide with concern, her name whispered on his lips. “Winry”

“I’m sorry. I’m so _so_ sorry, Ed.” She sniffed, tears were flowing down her cheeks like a river. “I lost all our notes, all our research, and I don’t know what to do. I should have done a copy of our research, I shouldn’t have carried all of the notes in one folder, I mean who does that? But I never thought I’d be robbed inside the campus, I never imagined it. And I tried to fight him, I did-”

“And why did you fight, you idiot? You could have been hurt,” He eyed her right arm, her bowed in shoulders and her quivering lip. “Hurt even more.”

“My notes were there, Ed! Our notes. Don’t you understand? We worked so hard on them, eight months of hard, non-stop work down the drain, because a stupid kid with a knife decided he wanted my bag-”

“Listen to me,” Edward grabbed her elbows, lowering his body so that his eyes were on the same level as hers. “Research and notes are important. But no more than your life. Don’t _ever_ do something stupid like this.” His face was crunched, eyes hard. Winry wanted to crawl onto her bed and never leave. 

“I came to Central because of this project. This is the whole reason for me being here and now this happens? At best, our work will be delayed for almost a year, and that’s a lot. We’ll have to start all over again and we will need funds for that. In worst case-”

“Don’t think about that now okay?” He sighed, stepping back and covering his eyes with one hand. “I’ll take care of it. I’ll take care of everything. Just.. don’t do anything stupid in the meantime.”

“How? Are you going to talk to Professor Knox?” Winry splayed her fingers on her forehead, tired of everything that happened and everything it was about to change. 

“Hm, yeah. Sure.” She was using the sleeve of his white hoodie to dry her tears, her nose was probably red and Winry could bet she was a mess. Edward gazed at her, his voice low, like he was telling her a secret. “I’m sorry, I suck at comforting people.”

Winry smiled fondly and for the first time in the night she felt warm while she thought to herself _yes, you really do_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So far, I think this has been the most difficult chapter to write. I wanted to make sure that all emotions were faithful to the characters and at the same time being able to progress with the story. I hope it worked! 
> 
> A little warning: unfortunately I will have to postpone the chapter for next week (😭) so I'll see you all on the 31st! Thank you for understanding!


	7. Not waving, but drowning

( _Persephone leans onto Hades and kisses him)_

 **she whispers** : for love, I will handle your sins.

and for justice?

for justice, I will show you mine.

* * *

Winry closed the large wooden door of Miss Hawkeye’s office, carefully trying to not make a sound. Outside there was only one receptionist who looked concentrated on her work and Paninya leaning against the wall, focused on her phone while waiting for Winry.

Paninya’s head snapped back at the sound of Winry’s footsteps. “So, how did it go?”

“Not good,” Winry sighed. She collected her things – her trench coat and red scarf – from Paninya’s hands and left the room. “She said she needs to talk to Principal Mustang, but for that we need to wait an opening on his schedule and then set up a meeting. It will take a least a month or so.”

“Shit, Win.” They were exiting the Principal’s building, down the stairs into the large garden. It was almost noon but before they stop for lunch, they would need to stop at the History Department. Paninya heard there was a new professor and she wanted to improve her grades with extra work. “What else can we do?”

“Honestly, I don’t know. Miss Hawkeye was really nice but aside from waiting, there isn’t much to do in these situations. She said there is an investigation going on, but there is so much the University can do in cases of robbery.”

“What about Professor Knox? Maybe he can help?”

Winry snorted. “Yeah, I tried to talk to him and he said Edward is the responsible for the project, so there is nothing he can do.”

“Oh, okay. And what about Edward? Did he say anything about what happens to the research in these cases?”

“No, he didn’t.” Winry frowned as they entered the History building. “Actually, he hasn’t said anything.”

“What do you mean?”

“I haven’t heard from him in two weeks.”

Paninya stared at her, puzzled. “What?”

“Yeah. He is not answering my calls. Or my text. The few times he did, he says he’s busy or that he can’t talk right now.”

“You’re kidding me.”

“I’m not. I don’t know what’s going on with him,” Before Paninya could say a sarcastic comment, Winry continued whispering to herself. “Actually, I think he hates me.”

“What? He does _not_ , Win.” Paninya took Winry by the arm, looking closely with a frown. The hallways were starting to fill up with the end of the classes. 

“It is _my_ fault that we lost everything we worked for.” Winry refused to meet Paninya’s gaze. Deep down, she knew she was being irrational, but with two weeks of feeling useless and angry and getting a cold shoulder from her assistant monitor, her rational brain was not fully functioning.

“First: this is not your fault at all. You were robbed remember? And you got hurt? Like, on your arm? And you had to go to the infirmary? You freaked out and punched the guy? You were there, if you don’t remember.” Paninya’s eyebrows moved dramatically, if Winry hadn’t been so upset, she’d have laughed.

“Shut up, I remember. It’s just– I don’t know. I don’t know what’s gonna happen now. The Principal can’t help, at least not now. Professor Knox says I have to deal with Edward and he is just ignoring me.” Winry leaned against the near wall, her hands moving frantically.

“Have you tried his apartment? Showed up there unannounced?”

“Hm, no. But I talked to Al, and he’s not saying much either.”

“Win..”

“I don’t know, Pan. I just feel useless you know? I hate not knowing what is going to happen. If we can’t get the notes back, then we need to know if we are starting the project all over again. And we need funding for that-”

“Okay, you’re thinking way ahead-”

“I am not. The only reason I came to Central is because of this project, Pan. Don’t you get it? If I can’t keep the project – either start all over again with new funding or try to remember what we work so far and go from there – there is no reason for me to be here.”

“Wait. You’re talking about leaving?” Paninya’s eyebrows raised in surprise.

“I don’t know. It’s nothing real yet, but it is a possibility,” Winry sighed, feeling a bit dramatic but also true. “But for anything, _anything_ , to happen I need to talk to Edward. Or he needs to talk to me. He is the responsible for the project and I need a signal from him.”

“Yeah. That makes sense.” Paninya sighed. “I saw him this week.”

“What? Where?” Winry pulls off the wall in surprise, brows raised.

“In the hallways, he was talking to Al.” Paninya shrugged, frowning. “Actually, Alphonse was angry, almost yelling at him.”

“Al? Yelling? Angry? Are you sure about that?”

Paninya laughed. “Incredible, right? It was almost like watching a comet pass. But I’m sure of it. I think he was mad because there is a rumor that Edward is going to fight a guy from the “Greed” fraternity.”

“Great. He has time for that stupid fight club, but time to answer my calls? No, that’s asking too much.” Winry furrowed, anger burning inside her.

_That stupid asshole._

Paninya suddenly turned her head away from them, where, until now, there was a shouting that Winry had not noticed. Winry was too concentrated on her own angry – her own stupid feelings – to notice Paninya squeezing her eyes in attention.

“Speaking of the devil,” Paninya moved her chin towards the loud noise. “Isn’t that him?”

Winry turned her head to where Paninya pointed and she could see Edward’s tall frame and his ponytail wagging as he points a finger at a man’s chest. From distance, Winry could see the man is wearing a formal brown suit, and had blonde beard and glasses.

Edward had his back to her, but by the pointed finger and the shouting Winry could imagine Edward's angry face. Before she could respond Paninya that _yes, that is in fact that stupid Elric_ , she was already moving towards them, ready to beat the shit out of him, when suddenly Edward’s fist connected to the man’s jaw and chaos settled in.

* * *

Winry closed the laboratory door sighing, as Edward started to pace furiously around the room. She dragged his angry ass across the building, with him mumbling disconnected words all the way, and pushed him through their research office, before campus security could be called.

She spent two weeks trying to talk to him, trying to get him to answer her texts or maybe help her schedule an appointment with Principal Mustang – since they seemed at least on a personal basis – and now she finally had him locked inside a room, ready to be shouted or beaten.

 _But there’s something wrong._

Winry knew Edward had angry management issues. No one with that much of sarcasm and irritability inside them could be considered “calm”. And that’s why he had that stupid fight club, so he could beat people inside a safe place. Therefore, she knew Edward didn’t go out punching people – specially someone who looked like a professor – without any significant meaning.

Winry took a deep breath and started. “Edward.”

“He can’t just do that. Just leave and then return twenty years later with nothing more than a “Hi Edward, you’ve grown”, who the fuck does he think he is?”

“Edward.”

“And now, _now,_ he decides to come back? And as the new head of History Department? Why am I even taking this class? I’m the science guy. But no, I had to pick this fucking class right? Right this semester? I’m mean what the fuck? What the actual fuck?”

“Edward.” He was passing, so focused on his own head that Winry didn’t know how he hadn’t knocked one of the chairs yet. 

“He didn’t even called, _never called_ , and he has two sons.T _wo_. A wife, who now is dead and I bet the son of bitch doesn’t even know. Of course not, why bother right? He just woke up one day and _left us”_

Winry had never seen Edward like this. Edward always seemed angry, always ready to snap at someone, but never this. Never pacing, never so disconnected to the reality. Never so.. lost. 

“ _Edward._ ” At Winry’s harsh and loud tone, Edward’s head snapped at her, finally stopping at one place. His brows were frowned and his mouth agape.

“What?”

She was leaning against the door, listening to his rampage of words. She looked deeply in those golden eyes, the ones she was used to seeing three times a week, asking her the right questions about their experiment, laughing at her expenses, helping her finish the right equations. She could seen how torn apart Edward was.

She walked slowly, approaching him as if he were a hurt animal and took his hand, noticing the red skin on top of his knuckles. Luckily, the skin didn’t break. So close to the window, the light pour on him, making his eyes even lighter, his hair looked even softer. She carefully raised his hands in both of hers and hold it firmly. He seemed calmer, tamed even while watching her closely.

“You know him, right? That man?”

Edward changed his gaze, finding more interesting to inspect the white wall behind Winry’s head than her blue eyes. He said nothing and for a moment, Winry thought this was going to be it. He would snap his hand back, look at her angrily and say that this was not her business and leave the room before she could respond.

Instead, Edward took a deep breath and cleared his throat and whispered, “Yeah. He is my father.”

“Oh.”

“He left us. Me, my mom and Al. I was five when it happened. He jus woke up one day and left. No notes. No calls. Nothing.” Edward stared back at Winry, meeting her eyes. There was a vulnerability on his gaze. “I don’t.. I don’t go out punching people like that. I’m not violent like-"

“I know, Ed.” Winry grabbed his hand tighter, hoping her voice would convey her sincerity. “You don’t have to convince me.”

Edward cleared his throat again. “I don’t want you to think I’m an animal or something. It’s just.. my mom waited for him, you know? She waited for him everyday, and then she got sick and she’d ask us about him, if he called or if he sent a letter and I had to watch. I had to watch her die with disappointment on her eyes because that piece of shit didn’t care.”

“I know it must hurt seeing him-”

“It’s not hurt, _it's hatred._ ” Winry could almost hear the poison in Edward’s voice. “We were just babies and he left us, how could someone do something like that? Abandoning the people who loves you? I hate him, Win.” His eyes were filled with tears now, tears that would never fall because she knew Edward Elric. She knew he covered his emotions very deeply and hated being seen as a weak, by anyone. She also knew that Edward had a big heart, even if he denied and called himself a jerk.

Winry thought back on her eight months since she came to know Edward. Thought of all the times he helped her, smiled at her, walked her home and comforted her, even on his rough-around-the-edges way.

“When I was six..” Winry started, but for a second she doubted herself. _Am I really telling him? About this?_ She gazed his golden eyes and knew the answer. “My parents were surgeons. When the war started – the Ishvalan war – they went to the battlefield and never came back.”

She took a deep breath and stared at their joint hands. This was hard. She could feel her insides shaking, as if her entire body was made of small earthquakes. Never sharing this story with anyone before him, made her afraid of the past. From her own feelings. Perhaps, even of herself. There were truths that even Winry didn’t want to face.

“For a time, a small part of me hated them. I was their daughter and they choose duty over me. Consciously, I knew they didn’t _choose_ to leave me, they were sent to war zone. It got worse when I found out they were actually murdered in the field, by their own patient.”

Edward didn't say anything, didn't move, didn't hesitate. If Winry wasn't holding his hand, she would think she was alone in that room. But she had a feeling he understood her on some level. That everything he went through in his childhood was a reflection of hers.

Winry’s eyes filled with tears. She could feel that tight knot on her throat.

“So, that’s okay,” Winry said with a lower voice, still looking at their hands. “You can hate him, even if you love him. Because I know it is possible, to love and hate someone so strong you feel it will break your heart in two.”

“Please, don’t cry,” Ed’s voice was rough, as if his throat was dry and the words came out with difficulty. “It breaks my heart to see you cry.”

Winry looked into his golden eyes and continued as if he had said nothing. “You don’t owe him anything. You are who you are thanks to you, Ed. You and Al, and Miss Izumi. You can hate him, but don’t you think it would be easier if you didn’t?”

“That’s what you did? Stopped hating your parents?”

“In a way, yes. But then I began to hate the man who killed them. And it didn’t end well.” Winry recalled the day she found out, the rain on her coat, the smell of street and dust. She remembered the policemen who showed up at Granny’s door step, saying they finally found the killer and that he would be judged for all his crimes. And worse of all, she remembered the day he was convicted while she sat three seats away from him, staring at the judge as he proclaimed the death sentence. And she remembered thinking _no, how can this be it? How can he be punished and I still feel this void inside me? This rage and sorrow?_

“Trust me when I say it’s not worth it ok?” Winry sighed hard. Edward looked at her and something on Winry’s words seemed to struck his core. His shoulders relaxed and his eyes looked clean, calm, like na ocean after a storm. Like everything else in his life, Edward seemed to understand that the only way was moving forward. 

After a few minutes of comfortable silence, she couldn't help but smirk. “And besides, Principal Mustang is not firing someone just because you hate the guy. If that happened, half of the professors in University Central would go home.”

Edward laughed softly, looking like a young boy who could finally breath. “Yeah. It’s easier for him to kick me out if I keep punching the guy everyday.”

Winry gave a small laugh, happy she could get trough him. Happy that he listened to her, even if meant share her heart with him. Holding his hand carefully, she took a good look making sure he didn’t have to go to the infirmary. No blood, no broken bones. He would be fine, this crybaby.

“You could spare your hand, try not to break it.”

“You’re right. I’ll need it to roll someone’s _sleeve_.” Edward raised his eyebrows, barely containing his laughter.

“Oh, shut up.” Winry growled, letting go of his hand and putting the most angry face she could manage. Right there, with the sun coming out of the window and bathing him, with his big smile and narrowed eyes, he was so beautiful that Winry’s heart squeezed in her chest.

_Am I-?_

_No._

_No way._

_Nope._

_But-_

_Fuck._

_Am I-?_

_Am I falling in love with him?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now we are officially 13 chapters! I finally managed to put together a schedule with all the chapters and scenes I want for this story. I hope you guys like it! 
> 
> If you want to talk, comment or prompt me, my tumblr is darkpersonapeace. 
> 
> long live EdWin 💛💛💛


	8. Of wholes in walls & hearts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is brought to you by Weathering with You soundtrack, "We'll Be Alright" by RADWIMPS.

**Winry** <We need to talk. Where are you?>

 **Paninya** <Lunch table, near the cherry trees>

 **Winry** <Ok, I’ll be right there>

Winry placed her purse on the table tightly, startling Paninya “I’m kind of fucked.”

“What? What happened?” Paninya dropped her book and stared at Winry, eyes round in worry. “Is it the project? Are going back to Rush Valley?”

“No, I still don't know what will happen with the project.” Winry swung her leg over the bench and sat up straight, sighing loudly. “I think I’m in love with Edward.”

Paninya froze and stared at Winry with wide eyes, mouth agape. Winry expected anything. A sarcastic comment. A loud laugh. Maybe even some curse words. But the Paninya seemed to be absorbing the bomb and after a full minute of silence, Winry began to doubt whether this was a good idea.

“Oh my god.”

Winry bowed her head and breathed, “I know.”

“Oh my god.”

“Yes. It’s terrible. There is like five reasons why this sucks.”

“Oh my god, Winry.” Paninya's voice was loud enough to draw the attention of two tables near them.

“You already said that, Pan! Can you help me here."

“Finally, you are facing reality.” Paninya continued, there was a certain happiness and perhaps excitement in her voice.

“What? Pan, I’m serious.” Winry ran her hand over her hair in exasperation. There was nothing worse for her than people not taking her seriously.

“Me too! I've been waiting for this for the past six months, Winry. Al and I even made a bet about which one of you would fall in love first.”

 _What?_

“What do you mean first?” Paninya’s words were sinking in. “What do you mean _bet_?”

“Oh, come on Win, it’s obvious to anyone who pays attention. It was just a matter of time.”

“No, it wasn’t. And who said he even feels the same?”

Paninya started at her, head leaned and brows up with an expression that said _bitch please_. “He’s completely different when you’re around.”

“Oh, yeah. He pisses me off and is always picking a fight with everything I say.”

“True. But isn’t he the one who brought this book for you when he traveled to Creta in that week seminar?” She pointed to the book in Winry's bag on the table. Through the opening, you could read the title _Machine of the World – A history of Creta’s engine_. “Which is funny because he is a major in Chemistry and yet took the time to buy a _mechanic_ book for you.”

“Okay. That was nice of him, but that doesn’t mean anything.”

“Winry, he carries a chocolate bar because you _always_ forget to eat.

“He carries it because he eats ten thousand calories a day.”

Paninya leaned against the chair, one eyebrow raised. “He hates chocolate, Win.”

Winry sighed heavily. “I can’t believe you and Al have a bet on this.”

Paninya laughed, finally losing the smugness from her face. “Damn right we did. And I won! Fuck, I have to call him.”

“What did you guys even bet?”

“Two month salary.” Her fist pump in the air.

“Holy shit, that’s a lot.”

“Yep. I’m rich baby.” Paninya smiled and after a beat of silence she noticed Winry’s bow head. “Is this really a bad thing? If he feels the same?”

Winry sighed loudly, for what seemed like the tenth time in that conversation. “First: we don’t know that, you’re just assuming he feels the same. Maybe he’s just nice to me because he’s my monitor. I mean, I can assume he finds me hot, because who doesn’t? And he’s only considerate, with the book and the chocolate-”

Paninya snorted loud “Winry, Edward lives barely outside reality. You know it, I know it, everyone knows it.”

Winry knew it. Edward, who had no idea the effect he had on people, with his golden eyes and sharp tongue. Edward, who helped others and never once expected something from it, because it was simple the right thing to do and _why not do it?_. Edward, drily amusing and slightly detached, with vaguely disinterested attitude towards anything – except chemistry and fights – and anyone, except Al and–

Yeah. 

_Fuck_.

“Second: kind of? I don’t know. I never felt this way before.”

“You never dated before?”

“No, I have dated. And I had crushes. But nothing like this you know? I feel like I know him and he _knows_ me. Like, although he is rude and a little bit stupid, he always knows the right thing to say and he’s always there, whenever I need him.”

Paninya stares at her silently, patiently before Winry continued, “Yesterday, he smiled at me and it felt like my heart was going to burst and became tiny little pieces. I know this is lame, but I feel complete. Like he gets me in a way no one has ever before.”

She sighed dropping her head “I’m fucked, right?”

Paninya reached across the table, holding Winry's hand. She waited for the blonde to look at her before replying, “Sorry to say, but yes you are.”

* * *

Winry woke up startled by the sound of her phone ringing. Her eyes were barely opened when she reached her arm across her bed and took the loud device on her hands. Socket, sleeping on the pillow next to her, moaned angrily at Winry’s movement, like a spoiled little child. Winry groaned in response, and from her bed clock, she could see it was almost two in the morning.

“Hello?” her voice was rough, groggy. She could hear the rain outside, but she was too sleepy to even open her eyes.

“Are you home?” It took a moment for Winry to realize that was Edward on the other side. He was breathless, his voice almost shouting. Winry took the phone from her ear, sighing heavily.

_What the fuck?_

“It’s one a.m in a Thursday Edward, of course I’m home.” Winry was out fixing a problematic car until late, so when she finally got home it was way past eleven. Giving Edward’s intrusive phone call, she barely slept three hours.

“Open up for me.”

Winry’s eyes shot open in surprise “What?”

“I’m down here. Open up. I need to give you something.” 

Winry’s heart was hammering in her chest when she threw the covers aside and got out of the bed. It was not usual for Edward to show up at her apartment, let alone in the middle of the night. Hell, he was still ignoring her. Even after the whole punch-my-father-in-the-face incident, Edward spent the last three days avoiding Winry’s text messages about their project.

And now he was showing up, in the rain, on her apartment, after she realized there was a high probably of her being in love with him? Yeah, not good at all.

Winry took a deep breath and opened the front gate for him – even though she lived in the first floor, there was a set of stairs between the front gate and her apartment door. That gave enough time for Winry to run her hand through her hair, trying to make it presentable, and wash her face. Thankfully, she slept in pajamas – pants and a thin tank top – so there was no need to change clothes in hurry.

A soft knock took Winry out of her thoughts. She knew there was something going on for Edward to show up in the middle of the night – various scenarios crossed her mind, Al needing help, Edward drunk - very unlikely since she never saw him drink more than one beer a night - or even another broken pipe in need of repair. But she was not expecting _this_.

Edward with a busted lip, a forehead and cheek cut deep enough to make a trail of blood on his face. The white shirt had blood stains on it, it was all wrinkled and the sleeve was torn. His hair was soaked, sticking to his face and neck. Edward could barely stand up, leaning his right side against the door, his breathing loud and fast. And, on top of all that, on his left hand was Winry’s cloth bag.

He stared at her for ten seconds, before his lips turn up in smirk “Guess what I found?”

His voice snapped her out the trance and immediately Winry took his arm and used her body to support him. She closed the door with her foot, and sat him on her couch, her bag dropped against his feet. The happiness of seeing her bag again – and possible all the content inside – was overshadowed by concern.

Her voice barely contained her worry and her anger. “What _the fuck_ happened?”

Edward sat up strangely, with his legs bent as his upper body slid against the couch, his head lying on the back. Judging by the way Edward held his torso, Winry could bet there were more bruises under his shirt.

Not waiting for his answer, Winry got up, took the first cloth she saw, and tucked it under the kitchen sink. When she returned, Edward was in the same position, his eyes closed and his breathing heavy. He opened his eyes in alarm when she gently touched the damp cloth to the cut on his forehead.

He took the cloth from her hand and she sat on the small table, in front of him. “You need to talk to me, Edward. You can’t show up at my door all beaten and not give me answers.”

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes again. “Remember the guy that robbed you? The one with the uroboros tattoo?” Winry nodded silently and when she noticed he didn’t see she replied a small _yes_. “He was from a fraternity called Greed.”

The name was familiar, Winry knew he had heard it before, but but Edward’s rough voice snapped her back. “They wanted me to join them. The fraternity. But I’d never because, not only I don’t like fraternities, they also are like, bad. From what I heard they sell drugs and worse.” 

“Shit. I didn’t know this.”

Edward’s eyes opened and met her gaze. “Yeah, it’s not really known. I just know because they really wanted me to join them and I refused each time.”

Edward looked so tired, so beaten up. Winry wanted to hold his hand and maybe even hold him in her arms, but she knew Edward was going to think it was a pity. Winry clasped hands and focused on his voice. “After you said the guy had a tattoo, I just connected the dots and ended up making a deal with them.”

“A deal?”

“Yeah. They…” Edward cleared his throat and started coughing hard, bending his body in half. Winry got up in a hurry, patted him on the back for a moment trying to help, but when she realized it wasn't going to stop, she got up and brought him a glass of water.

She eyed him carefully as he drank the water, noticing the bruise on his collarbone, near his throat. “Take off your shirt."

Edward looked at her in surprise first, but then a small smirk grew on his lips and his eyes turned amused. “Without paying a dinner first? That’s fast, Rockbell”

Winry chuckled, shaking her head, not believing this guy was cracking sexual jokes while he could barely sit straight. She moved her hand towards him, asking silently for his shirt. In the motion between taking the glass from his hand and setting it on the table, Edward had stripped and threw his shirt on the floor. Unfortunately, Winry was right.

His torso had three large bruises, one near his ribs and one on his chest. There was an even larger one on his back, beneath the shoulder blade. From the size, it looked like a boot had hit him. He was covered in small bruises too, little red dots that would eventually turn in purple ones.

Winry took a deep breath, feeling her insides shake with concern. _This is not good._

“Edward-”

“They wouldn’t give the research back. So, I negotiated a fight. If they win, I’d join. If I win, I’d get the notes back.” Edward wickedly, kicking the cloth bag lightly on the floor, opening it showing all of Winry’s books, the folder with the notes and her notebook. “Well, we already know how that ended.”

Shit. Shit. _Shit_.

“This is good, it really is.” Winry pointed at the notes and then stared at him. “And we are going to talk about this. About the project and about how you ignored me for two fucking weeks-”

“If I told you I’d fight them, you’d have beaten the shit out of me.” Edward’s voice was strained. “And I didn’t want to lie to you.”

“About how we have the notes back and we can continue our research. About how you decided to deal with this alone-”

“They came after you because of me. You had a cut on your arm because of me. They used _you_ to get to me, Winry. This was my fault.”

“About how you are an _idiot_ and about how bad this fight was. And yes, I would have beaten the shit out of you if you had told me this stupid plan. But that’s not the point right now,” She eyed his bruises on his stomach carefully. “Right now, we are going to a hospital.”

“What? No.”

“Yes, Edward. We need to, you look pretty bad.”

“Winry, these bruises are clearly from a fight. If I go to a hospital, they’ll know what happened and then things can get bad. I can be expelled from the program.”

Winry sighed. His thinking wasn’t wrong. If he went to a hospital and they figure it out, the fraternity would probably claim that it was Edward’s fault and he would really be expelled. And Winry wouldn’t allow that to happen, especially after he got so hurt just to bring her notes back.

“Okay. No hospital. But I’m calling Alphonse.”

Winry started to get up, looking for her phone, when Edward's hand grabbed her wrist, his body straight up and his eyes wide open in terror. “No. Please, don’t call Al."

Winry stared at him, mouth agape. “He is the pre-med student, Edward. I’m the engineer one, I can fix pipes and cars, not people.”

“You delivered a baby.”

“Ten years ago.” She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “And that was completely different.”

Edward cast his eyes down, his hands not leaving Winry’s wrist. He was still breathing loudly, as if he just ran a marathon. He shook his head and the movement made his ponytail wiggle, showing the splash of blood on the golden locks.

_Why is being so difficult about this? He is in no shape to make demands here_

Suddenly, Edward let go of her wrist and his body slid across the couch until he was lying down, his right leg hanging out, touching the floor. What looked like an iceberg had fallen into Winry's stomach because for a moment it looked like Edward had passed out.

Hands shaking with concern, Winry leaned forward, her face so close to his that she could see the small, almost transparent, mole near his eyebrow. She noticed Edward’s eyes barely open and his breathing steady. He might not have passed out, but his body couldn't take it anymore.

“I just don’t want him to see me like this.” His voice startled Winry, even thought it was barely a whisper in the darkness. 

It took a few seconds for Winry's mind to calm down with medical concern and remember what they are talking about. “He is you brother, Ed. You have to start trusting him. It may not look like, but Al is strong.”

“I know. But I’m all he has.”

“I understand what you’re saying. But that’s not true,” In that moment, they seemed suspended in time. The darkness and the noise of the rain were the only things that anchored them in reality. “He has you. And Izumi, and Sig. And Mai, and Ling. And me.”

Winry shrugged, smiling fondly for the first time since the phone call. “He’s not alone, Ed. And neither are you.”

Edward’s golden eyes stared at Winry, almost as seeing her soul. It was so intense, Winry looked down, noticing his lips. Which was a bad idea, because even with all the blood and the bruises, she felt a heat rise in her belly and–

 _This is not the time_.

She cleared her throat, embarrassed. She could feel her cheeks turning red and she was grateful that she hadn't turned on the lights when Edward arrived. Because honestly, he was all hurt and bleeding, she was thinking about how he looked all needy and wet and he was on her apartment at one in the morning and they were _alone_.

 _Focus, Rockbell_.

“Okay. No calling Al.” She looked at her torso and sat up, putting a distance between them. “Why don’t you take a shower?” _That’s a great change, lets picture him naked in your bathroom._

“I mean, you need to warm up.” _This is not getting better._ “I’ll make you some tea and I have some painkillers in the closet. You can sleep on my bed.” 

Edward smirked, his eyes playful. “I can’t shower here. What am I going to wear? I don’t have my _things._ ” His voice made very clear how much fun he was having.

Winry couldn’t help but smile big. “You jerk. Lucky for you, I have your boxer, the one you gave me?” She raised her eyebrows. “They are washed and ironed, if you don’t mind.”

He didn’t.

Twenty minutes later, Winry had a cup chamomile tea and a painkiller on the small table near her bed and Edward exited her bathroom smelling watermelon shampoo – _thank god_ , because he had initially refused to wash his hair in the middle of the night which Winry instantly replied _you’re not gonna mess my white sheets with blood on your hair_ and his silence was enough response. 

After he sat on her bed pouting like an angry child while Winry put small bandages on his cuts, she helped him slide under the covers and removed Socket from her spot on the pillow next to Edward’s head.

“Where are you going to sleep?” Edward’s voice startled Winry while she carried Socket in her arms. She had turned off the lights, leaving only the small light bulb on the floor, in case Edward wanted to move and not hit anywhere.

He looked in peace, with his golden hair cascading over the white sheets, the comforter almost reaching his chin, leaving only his collarbone exposed. He barely moved after Winry tucked him in, and she could only imagine how much pain Edward must be feeling. A warmth feeling grew on Winry’s heart and looking at him, with his eyes barely opened on her bed, looking warm and comfy, Winry wanted nothing more than crawl inside that warm cocoon and lay there, with his skin touching hers.

She smiled fondly, took two steps near the bed and leaned down kissing his cheek gently. “Call me, if you need anything ok?”

She didn't wait for an answer as she closed the door. Edward would sleep like a rock with all the adrenaline and energy his body spent trying to keep him awake. Winry wasn’t concerned about her own sleep, because she wasn’t getting any. Retrieving her bag from the floor, Winry opened her folder and took all her notes and Edward's. It was all there. All her research notes, her notebook, the three books in the library she borrowed. There was nothing missing in your bag. She spread the notes on the kitchen table and took a stack of papers from the cabinet along with three pens.

Four hours later Winry had copied one third of their research and the sun had started to rise over the horizon. As soon as the first orange golden lights hit the wall, Winry stretched, her hands above her head, and stood up picking up her phone.

Before putting the kettle on the fire, Winry dialed a familiar number. It answered after the third ring.

“Is there a reason why you’re calling me at six in the morning?”

“There is,” Winry opened the window, smelling the fresh grass and rain. “I made apple pie. Why don’t you come have breakfeast with me, Al?”


	9. To the falling stars

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys, I'm so so sorry for the delay. There was a problem with my computer and I lost half my docs, and I basically had to rewrite this chapter entirely. It's not exactly what I wanted and I'm really sorry if I disappoint some of you. I tried by best here! Please low your expectations 💖

Winry checked her phone for the sixth time, waiting for a message from Edward, while walking down the street. She could faintly hear loud music and see people walking pass her. Unfortunately, she was again only fueling her anxiety, since her phone showed nothing new.

She stopped in front of the address she was looking for and stared surprised.

She was currently in front of what could be easily considered the Principal’s house because _holy shit_ it had the biggest garden Winry has ever seen. Garden was a nice word actually, the place looked like an art gallery made of plants. The house had three floors, large windows and it was made of dark wood and cream walls.

She knew Ling for almost a year now and she never _never_ thought he was loaded. Actually, since he was always bulling Ed to pay for food or even Paninya to give him free candys, Winry just assumed he was like the rest of them, had to have a job in order to pay the bills.

But _this_ looked like royalty.

“ _This_ is Ling’s house?” Winry tried not to look too impressed. She was there to celebrate Ling’s birthday and when Edward mentioned Winry was invited, Winry just assumed that would be a casual thing, maybe a small gathering like Al’s birthday. But not this whole ass party, with loud music and at least a hundred people flooding into the house.

A loud laugh answered her and Winry noticed Paninya standing on her right side, grabbing Winry's arm as she muttered a _hey_ _gearhead_ with that sarcastic smile.

“Pan! Did you know Ling is rich?”

Paninya laughed again and pushed Winry into the party “Yeah, I’ve been here a couple of times.” They passed the garden and Winry noticed how many people were drinking outside. Apparently, Ling knew half the college too. Winry could see some people on her Politics class, some from her Advance biology and even Sheska, chatting with two girls near the – _oh my god, how is this real –_ water font with angels on it.

When they were going up the balcony stairs, Paninya noticed Winry looking down, again, and couldn’t help but ask, “Why are you checking your phone every thirty seconds?”

“I’m waiting a message from Edward.” Paninya smirked and arched her brow. “It’s not like that. Today is my project evaluation, I presented for the board – three professors – and now they are analyzing if goes to phase 2 or not. Edward is still there, with them.”

“Holy shit, I thought that was a month away.”

“No, Pan. I told you that, like last month, but it’s been a while since we talked.”

“And whose fault is that?” Paninya stared at her.

“Hey, don’t blame me. With the research being stolen and Edward’s recovery, I had to finish it up everything in two months. It’s not my fault.”

“I know, I know.” They had stopped in porch, the house so full of people they could barely move and they weren’t even close to the drinks.

_Ling’s probably throwing some free alcohol for this many people._

When they passed through the front door, Paninya grabbed Winry’s hand and barely whispered, “Speaking of him, how’s going the whole I-can’t-but-I-want-to-fuck-my-monitor thing?” 

Winry sprung around, wide eyes. “Jesus Christ, Paninya. Don’t say that.”

“Well, that’s not a lie, is it?” She raised her hands, apologetically.

No, it wasn’t. Because the last two months had been a torture to Winry, a terrible and agonizing torture.

Once Edward recovered, after almost a week later after Al showed up at her doorstep for breakfast – Winry had no idea of Edward’s reaction to that; she had to run for her first period and stop at Garfield’s to let him know her schedule would be crazy for the next month, so Al spend the whole morning taking care of the older brother – they had returned to the lab with their schedule running behind, almost a month. Which meant long hours trapped alone in a tiny room with Edward.

First, she tried not to think about. It would be nothing different then before right? She had been working with him for the past eight months, what are two more? Just because she is in love with him doesn’t mean anything else. Winry tried very had to convince herself of that. But after the second week of them working until late or very early, Winry stoped lying to herself.

Before, she wasn’t painfully aware of Edward’s proximity, of his every move around the room or when he stranded next to her to analyze the new sample and how it reacted with the new metal and Winry could swear that every time he got close enough to for their arms to touch, her whole body would vibrate in a frequency enough to shatter glass.

She remembered the afternoon she got late at the lab and she was drenched by the rain outside and Edward picked up the towel inside his backpack – because of course he carried one, he always showered after fight club on the men’s locker – and proceeded to rub the towel on Winry’s short hair because _you’re getting a cold and then we’ll be even more behind the schedule you idiot_ and Winry couldn’t help but feel warm on her belly, feel her heart beating faster and thinking _I can kiss him right now, he’s so close, so warm and I know I just have to lean in and –_

But her brain would halt to the reality and she had to remember _not now, not yet, there’s too much to be done_ and Edward would step back and away from her and the world would spin again. 

She remembered the last to months, of they finishing up and closing the lab at night or almost near the dawn and Edward walking her home every time, or him bringing her the new rainbow Frappuccino from the cafe where Al worked because _I’m pretty sure you’re going to love this disgusting thing_. And Winry would be thinking _is he always been like this? Always this caring and gentle and I never noticed?_

“No, it isn’t.” Winry furrowed her brows and stared ahead, not noticing Paninya’s understanding expression. “But that doesn’t mean you get to say that out loud.”

They finally reached the kitchen, where apparently all the drinks were being kept, and Paninya snapped two bottles of beer for them. Winry pointed with her head the empty space on the balcony outside, because apparently the room inside the house was finite and it had reached the maximum number of people.

Winry leaned against the rail and took a sip of her beer when Paninya’s said, “I thought you didn’t like beer.”

“I don’t, but when in Rome right.” Winry took her phone in her hands and checked, again, for any news. She was considering sending a text to Edward, making sure everything was okay with the meeting when someone’s arm wrapped around her neck.

She looked up, noticing Al’s happy red face and smiled. “Hey, you.”

“Hey Win!” Judging by his loud voice and happy eyes, Al was already on his third drink. “I saw you standing here. When did you arrive?”

“Just now, but we took too long trying to move around this place.”

“Yeah,” Al’s eyes scan the room. “It’s really packed.”

“Where’s Mai?” Paninya asked, after she kissed him on the cheek.

“Not here yet.” He smiled like a happy puppy when he heard her name. Winry couldn’t help but smile with him. She opened her mouth to question about Edward but Al was faster than her. “Brother is on the front garden, he’s on the phone.”

“What? He’s already here?” Winry was on the tip of her foot, eyes moving trying to find a golden ponytail. “Did he say anything? About the meeting? He didn’t text me, I’m can’t stand the wait anymore.”

Al chuckled. “Easy. He didn’t say anything but I’m sure it went ok, Winry. You’re like a genius and people call him child prodigy, so between you two I’m sure you got approved.”

Winry was barely listening to Al, her eyes scanning the room for Edward. She knew Al meant well, but at this point, after everything, all the encouragement words were just noise in the background. Their hard work and her genius would go down the drain if the board did not approve the project. 

When she turned her head for the third time, she saw him. He had a scowled, his eyes hard and moving everywhere. He was using a black shirt – _that makes him look so hot, jesus –_ and dark jeans. He seemed to be looking for someone and, before Winry could raise her hand to get his attention, his eyes stopped at her and he was strolling towards their group.

When he’s only five steps away, he raised his arms like he’s celebrating a goal, his face broke into a gigantic grin and Winry already knew the answer before he screamed for the whole party to hear “We did it!”

Time must have skipped because suddenly Edward’s arms closed around her waist, she was grabbing his neck tightly and he was spinning them around, laughter filling Winry’s ear.

_Oh my god. Oh my god. I can’t believe it worked, I can’t believe we passed._

Edward settled her on the ground, his arms loose around her waist while she gripped his forearms. “Tell me everything. What was the grade? Did they find loopholes? Who’s on phase 2? When did you found out?”

Edward laughed carefree. “No loopholes in the research. There are three professors interested in going to phase 2, and I only found out four minutes ago. Knox called me to let me know, but it will be on the University board tomorrow, the official decision.”

“Three professors? Who? Holy shit. And what about the score?”

“I don’t remember their names, but I think you can think about that tomorrow, gearhead.” He stepped back, putting his hands on his jeans pocket. “Score was 95.”

“95?” Winry stared at him. “Why 95? What did I get wrong?”

Winry could hear Paninya’s laugh behind her. In her explosion of happiness, she completely forgot Al and Paninya were near them and she could almost hear the _my god she’s worst than brother_.

“There was a typo,” Winry opened her eyes wide. She was pretty sure she checked at least four times their final report. “And had a wrong formatted quote.”

“But –”

“Let’s just focus on the fact that you passed? And with a great score? With a month behind the schedule?” Al wrapped his arm around Winry’s neck and she smiled. Fuck yeah, he was right. They did it against all the odds and now her prosthetics were a little bit closer of becoming reality.

“Ed, here, take my beer.” Paninya pushed her beer towards him and grabbed Al’s hand. “Come one, help me get a decent drink in this place.”

They left before Winry or Edward could say anything else. They stare each other for a few seconds before Edward leaned against the rail beside Winry. He took a sip of his beer and stared at the crowd while Winry vibrated with happiness.

She did it. _They_ did it. Even with one month behind.

“If you could choose any professor, which one would you choose?” Edward’s voice was low, but even with the music Winry could perfectly understand due their proximity.

After a beat, she says. “Professor Dominic.”

Edward stared at her, his characteristic smile on the curve of his mouth.

“Why? Because it’s the mechanical phase now?”

“Yeah, the metal ligament and applications of the nerves ending. It’s gonna be a lot of work, these details are insane and very few people have the knowledge. I’ll be really lucky if Dominic took over, because did you know he actually was the first to design a leg? Even on paper, that’s awesome and –” Winry noticed Ed smiling big and she felt her cheeks warm. She knew she could on hours talking about mechanics and automail and Edward was the chemistry guy, he didn’t really care about stuff like that, but she couldn’t help, not today of all days. 

“You look cute when you’re nice.” Something on his voice made Winry’s stomach clutch.

“Yeah?” Winry leaned her hips forward, almost without thinking and with a sarcastic smile on her lips. “What am I when I’m not nice?”

Ed took a sip of his beer, his eyes never leaving hers.

“Hot as fuck.” 

Winry blushed even harder, looking down and trying to hide her smile. She almost took a sip of her own beer, in order to distract her brain, but she remembered she hated the thing. Not knowing what to answer, she focused on their previous conversation.

“Why did you ask? About the professor?”

“Because he’s one of those who showed interested. Dominic.”

“Damn, that’s awesome. It will be great if I can work with him.”

Edward stared at his own feet, kicking an invisible rock. “I’ll miss see you everyday.”

_There it is again. Shit, what am I going to do with him?_

A dark part of her brain answered for her _maybe take him home and fuck him all night?_

Winry smiled. “Will you? I thought you wouldn’t. Seeing how much food you were spending on me. And all those missing hours of sleep. And you know, all those jokes about you getting your ass beat.”

Edward laughed. “Yeah, I was wrong. I won’t.”

Winry looked at him and loosed herself in that golden sea. Finally, reality was sinking in. Her hard work paid off. Her project got approved. And because of that Edward was no longer her monitor. No longer holding power over their work. No longer off limits.

Paninya’s voice broke her concentration. “Win! Did you know Ling has a lake? Like, with orange and blue fish in it?”

Winry stared at her for ten seconds. “What?”

“Yeah, a whole ass lake, he was just telling me about it. Is in the backyard apparently, amidst the garden.”

“Oh,” Winry didn't know what else to say, because honestly, who cared about a lake?

“Edward, you know where it is right? You’ve been here before.” Paninya took the beer from Edward’s hands. “You should show it to Win.”

 _Pan, you sneaky little bitch_.

Winry knew very well what Paninya was trying to do, but she refused to be part of the whole scheme. Edward, apparently clueless to the whole thing, only nodded and answered a low _yeah, sure, it’s over here_ and proceeded to walk ahead.

Winry stared at Paninya, frowning her face and calling her names without sound and her friend, her best friend, only blew a kiss for her and said a muted _you can thank me later_.

They walked for a few minutes in silence, dodging people along the way, while the dark night engulfed both of them. Unlike the front yard, there was no one around in the back and due the rain, the grass was wet and Winry thanked her high boot for protecting her against the cold. There was a lack of stars in the sky, but it doesn't detract from the beauty of the night. Far from the house, the loud music and conversations were nothing but background noise. The cold wind blew Edward’s ponytail in front of her and she thought she was exactly where she wanted to be.

Edward stopped in front of her, kicking the grass and looking down. “Apparently he brought the fish with him and Lan Fan from his country. He is a pompous little shit.”

Winry couldn't help but laugh out loud, noticing the fancy fish in front of them. The lake was small and well maintained, almost at the end of the property and Winry thought it must have cost a small fortune to build that.

“By the way, what’s the deal with him and Lan Fan? I’ve seen them together, but I’ve seen the apart too.” Winry frowned.

“They have an open relationship.” Edward quoted with his fingers. “Whatever that means.”

“Oh,” _That explained a lot._ “That’s why Lan Fan tried to kiss me at Al’s party.”

“She what?” Edward’s eyes were wide in horror.

Winry laughed even harder, enjoying his shocked expression. “Nothing.”

After a few minutes of silence, Winry tried to think of something else she could say to make him stay there, with her alone. But her mind was cloudy and her ears were buzzing because she wanted to do something, she _could_ do something but the amount of _what if’s_ spinning through her mind were too many and too loud and she’d lose this precious moment and –

“Remember that night in the lab?” His voice was low, barely a whisper, like he didn’t want to break the silence, the bubble they created alone in that chilly evening.

Winry knew what he was talking about and still she asked. “What night?”

“That one. When my pen exploded ink on your white shirt and you had to change.” He was so close now, his arm touching hers. She closed her eyes, her heart hammering on her chest, her breathing loud. “I was so close to you when you left that bathroom. I could smell you, that sweet and citric smell you always leave when you exit a room.”

Without anything else to say, Winry answered. “It was my shampoo. Watermelon shampoo.”

Edward chuckled. “I know, I could barely contain myself. You were so warm and close –” Edward moved into her space, his breath moving her hair. She was afraid to move; she wanted to grab his arm, hold him, demanding his mouth, his heart, beg him to stay. 

It scared her, how much she wanted him.

“I’m not proud,” Edward’s voice grew even lower. He sounded almost ashamed. “But I fucked a girl that night with your smell on my nose.” Suddenly, Edward grabbed her arm and moved. Winry must have lost track of time because when she noticed, Edward had pinned her against a wall, his body crushing her, their breath mingled.

“Ed,” Winry moaned. She could barely think with their proximity.

“I fucked her in the dark and when I came, it was your face I saw.”

“Ed,” _Please. Never let me go. You’ll be the death of me._

“Tell me. Tell me if you want this. Tell me to stop. Tell me everything.”

Winry’s heart was hammering on her chest so strong, for a moment she thought he could hear. One year of meeting this boy, this man who turned her world in the best way, who protected her, who made her a better person and she couldn’t think why not. Why not take this leap. Why not love him.

Winry pushed herself, her hands climbing his shoulders and curling around his nape until her lips were pressing against his, warm and soft. She stayed there for a second before she angled her head back a little, just enough to look into his eyes again.

Edward’s eyes were half-closed but Winry could see the vulnerability in them. His hands went up to the back of her nape, his thumb massaging her neck in an almost unconscious affection.

Edward’s voice, like himself, was a contradiction – rough, and yet gentle when he said, “If you want me, I’m yours.”

And Winry thought, while seeing stars behind her eyelids when he leaned and kissed her again, _there's nothing else I want_.


	10. Let's cross over

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys, after editing this I had to change the fic rating from 'Mature' to 'Explicit', so please please be aware that there will be explicit sexual content on this chapter! Proceed responsibly and only if you're comfortable.  
> And thanks again for all the kudos and comments!!! 💖💖

Edward woke up startled by a loud crashing sound. For a moment, he’s ten again, his kitchen cabinet too tall for Al’s childish height, so when his little brother stands on the tiptoe and pulls out a porcelain plate for breakfast, three glasses fall and break into small pieces that make Ed’s hands bandage for a week. It took less than a minute for Edward to understand that the noise was coming from the street and not from the kitchen.

He took a deep breath, trying to steady his heart. The room was bright, the sun coming out of his window warming up the white sheets. He could feel the cold breeze creeping over his shoulders and chest, where the blanket didn’t reach. For a moment, he was suspended in oblivion, on that golden morning, not knowing what day or time it was, until Edward turned to the side, staring at his messy pillow and he remembered that somebody should be in bed with him. 

Winry. 

He frowned as he stood up, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, the sheets pooling around his waist allowing the sun to bathe his naked torso. He was pretty sure Winry slept beside him. He focused, trying to listen to any sound from his bathroom or his kitchen but the house was dead silent. 

After washing his face and putting his boxers – his hair a complete mess after Winry spent the night running her fingers through, so Edward doesn’t even try to brush it – Edward left his room, his feet cold against the wooden floor and shivers running through his arm. 

Central, even with the high and strong sun, was too cold for the brothers. Years growing up in Reseembol and Dublith, where the weather was almost always hot and muggy enough for the brothers to only have one coat, made Edward unaccustomed to Central's constant winter. The sun in that city seemed like a lamp, used only to cast light but not to heat it. 

Edward grabbed a glass of water and sat at the table, laziness roaming his body and eyes half closed, when he looked at the three-seater sofa in the room.

Then, all the memories from last night came crashing like waves.

_Rationally, Edward knew something must have happened between the moment Winry whispered in his ear “wanna come home with me?” until the moment he slammed his apartment door, her hand closed against his. He remembered at least their conversation where Winry pointed out her apartment would be empty of brothers and Edward replied that his was closer to Ling’s house._

_He knew he and Winry must have talked for the ten minute walk – he had no idea what the conversation was, because he could only focus on her pink lips as she spoke and when her tongue slipped to wet them, Edward’s brain halted in overload – and he knew he offered something to drink once they stepped into the apartment._

_After, he slammed her body into the door and kissed her, sloppy and messy, biting her lips as she smiled for him. His hands moved through her short hair, gripping her nape and when her hands slipped down his shirt and palmed his jeans, he grabbed her._

_“If you do that, it will end too soon.”_

_She grinned. “That’s okay. You won’t ruin this.”_

_“It’s really not. I’ve been thinking about this for the last six months, I_ know _I’m gonna mess it up.” He kissed her neck, in the soft, almost hidden spot just below her left ear, and Edward could feel as almost hear her soft breath. “I’m just going to try to make it not so bad for you.”_

_He didn’t hear her answer, his lips were already crushing hers. After he pressed his entire body against hers – a terrible, terrible idea because her breasts were even softer against his chest – he pulled her waist and started to walk backwards._

_“Bed?” Her voice was breathy, in a way that Edward had never heard before._

_“Couch.”_

_Winry stared at him. “Al?”_

_He almost laughed at this monosyllabic discussion. “He’s sleeping at Mai’s tonight.” He kissed her one more time, as if he was addicted to her lips and couldn't get more than ten seconds without tasting them, and he stepped back, putting some distance between them._

_Winry smiled fondly. “Is he nervous?”_

_“Yes, he changed his shirt three times before leaving the house.” Edward held her waist gently, as if Winry was made of glass, and looked into her gorgeous blue eyes. “You can change your mind, if you want.”_

_“About going to my place?”_

_“No,” Edward almost blushed as he pointed his chin at the couch. “About this.”_

_“I was the one who suggested it, remember?”_

_“Still, you can change your mind.”_

_Winry stood on the tip of her toes and nibbled his chin, almost like a sly cat and whispered in his closed lips, “I know, but I really want this. You’re not the only one who has thought of this before.”_

_Without missing a beat, Winry lay down on the couch, her left foot hanging out, her head nestled in the sofa’s arm. Looking at her from above, she looked like a painting from Izumi’s history books, where men hung the painting on the wall and people would pay dearly just to admire them. For what it seemed the tenth time on that night, Edward wondered if that was actually happening._

_He lay on top of her, carefully not to crush her with his weight, one hand above her head, his knee on the couch between her legs. It was as if he was almost afraid to touch her, to crush her with his maddening desire for her._

_Winry bit her lower lip, a playful look on her eyes and Ed couldn’t help but kiss that smile. He’s lost count of how many times he thought about that, about leaning over a bit more while they were at the lab or maybe holding her hand as they walked across the campus. He didn't know exactly when it happened. When he started to feel this crushing weight on his chest when he thought of her. And now –_

_Now._

_This._

_Her, warm and soft and whimpering beneath him. Pink lips and a mischievous grin while looking up to meet his eyes. Edward could barely think straight, barely connect to the reality when he felt her hands on his cheek, the taste of mint on her lips, the smooth curve of her neck._

_He didn't know how long he spent on that position, suspended on top of her with only their lips connecting. He wanted to fuck her, like an animal, but he’d settle with holding her hand, if that was what she wanted. Because this girl – this mind blowing, genius girl, had somehow felt something for him and he can’t – won’t – take that for granted._

_Winry broke the kiss, smiled sweetly at him and grabbed the hem of her grey blouse and started to pull up. Edward just stood there, eyeing her like an idiot, while every inch of skin was unraveled under his eyes. First, her defined-long-hours-carrying-mechanic-tools tummy, then the hem of her black bra – Why does it have to be black? fuck_ – _and then the curve of her breasts that Edward spent hours imagining what it would be like._

_She dIdn't stop there. No, her goal was to make Edward come on his pants, because suddenly she was pulling her arms back and the claps of her bra were open and then he could see everything._

_And he was not prepared for what he saw._

_Her right nipple was pierced with barbells, the pink bud nested between tiny metal balls on either side. “Fuck,” Edward heard himself say because, holy shit. That’s the hottest thing he’s ever seen._

_He knew this girl for almost a year and nothing, nothing, would have prepared him for this moment. He never thought she had a nipple piercing but thinking back that was naïve of him. She had four earrings on each ear, what was one more on her breast?_

_Winry’s hands on his shirt broke his concentration. Understanding her actions, Edward pulled back a little and took it off, throwing on the floor. Her eyes burned against his torso, going up and down._

_“I knew you had a six pack,” Edward’s laugh burst into the room and she smiled fondly, languidly running her hands over his chest. “You’re beautiful.”_

_Edward leaned down, his nose traveling against her cheek. “That’s my line.”_

_His mouth slammed against her, even more demanding than before and he glued his chest against Winry’s just to feel her softness. When she grew impatient, her hands tugging Edward’s hair and her teeth biting his lips, his lips traveled from her neck to her right breast._

_His lips were touching the soft skin when he said, “Does it hurt?”_

_She bit her lips and shook her head. He licked the small bud and whispered “Good” and he didn't do anything else for the next twenty minutes and only stopped when Winry was whimpering, her thighs pressing each other and her tits were red from all the sucking and biting._

The loud noise coming from the street, the same one that woke Edward, broke his line of thought. Did he do something wrong yesterday? Not that he was planning a fancy breakfast but waking up alone was not what went through his mind when Edward carried Winry to his bed.

Taking a deep breath, he stood up, placed two toasts on the toaster and turned to the refrigerator, looking for the jam. Finally, he noticed the writing on their board, the one that was stuck on the refrigerator and the brothers used to write memos and shopping lists. Unlike any other day it said _had to run at Garfield’s, lunch with me?_

Edward pretended not to notice the smile rising on his lips. 

* * *

Two hours later he stopped on the cold street in front of Garfield’s with two paper bags and one bottle of orange juice. Even though he knew Winry for almost a year, he only had been to Garfield’s a few times, and in all of them Winry was alone at the shop. But Edward didn’t remember Winry ever having a car emergency, so maybe this wasn’t a good idea. What if he did some wrong last night? Maybe he scared her with his big mouth. No, this was Winry. She _always_ called Edward on his bullshit. Yeah, ok, and she _did_ asked to have lunch together so maybe this was a nice-

“Can I help you?” The harsh voice brought Edward out of his thoughts. He was so immersed in his own head he didn’t notice the muscular guy, with silver hair and dark glasses, leaned against the door smoking a cigarette. From his overalls, he worked there too. 

“I’m looking for Winry.” 

“Oh,” The man dropped the cigarette and stepped on it. He turned, walking into the shop as he said, “Hey blondie, there’s someone here for you.”

_Blondie? Is there a more lame nickname?_

Thirty seconds later Winry emerged from the shop, the coveralls wrapped around her waist, leaving her entire torso exposed, except for the black top. She wore a green bandana on her short hair, making her silver earrings shine in the sun, and brown gloves, one hand holding a grease-filled wrench.

Edward’s internal ramblings and worries died the moment her eyes connected with his and a smile grew on her lips. He was pretty sure his face reflected hers, like a mirror. How could he possibly think this was wrong? As always, something inside him gave in, like a shift happening in the fabric of things and suddenly all his fucking problems disappeared if he just let himself drown in the ocean eyes of hers. 

She looked beautiful, with grease on her right cheek and the sweat dripping from her forehead, her face a little red from exertion. She wore the same brown jumpsuit that she forgot at his house the day she went to fix his sink. A drop of sweat slipped from her chin and ran down her neck and-

_No. No._

_Don’t look._

_You’ll have a fucking boner in the middle of her work because you can’t possibly control yourself._

_So what if she looks gorgeous and edible and semi naked in front of you?_

_Control your fucking brain. Think of something else._

“It’s freezing.” He blurted out when she was three steps away from him and he could almost feel her heat through his red coat. Edward’s voice sounded a little rough and he almost cleared his throat but that would’ve been worse. _Yeah, let’s talk about the weather, great topic._

_I'm such an idiot._

Winry startled a little - probably because she was expecting at least a normal greeting but Edward’s brain apparently has liquified since he has first seen her naked - but her eyes melted and she grinned at him, as used to his blabbing mess. 

"Hello to you too," Winry rested her hands on his hips, her head tilted towards the workshop. “And it's not freezing if you’ve spent four hours doing manual work in a garage with just one window.” 

Edward swallowed hard, trying to focus on her eyes. “Yeah, that makes sense,” She opened her mouth to reply, but he remembered why his hands were busy and added, pushing the paper bags in front of her face. “I brought lunch.”

“Oh great, I’m starving.” Winry pointed to a small garden in front of the shop. “We can eat there. I’ll just talk to Garfield and I’ll be right back.”

Once Edward sat down, opened the bags and poured the juice on the two small cups he brought along, Winry appeared again, this time without the bandana and her jumpsuit closed to the top, leaving only her throat and hands exposed to the cold wind. 

“I brought shepherd's pie, hope you like it.” 

She sat in front of him, legs crossed. “Yeah, I do! Granny used to make it all the time for me.”

“Izumi too, must be something old people do.” If Edward had thought more, he would have brought a towel to spread out under the icy grass and some cutlery. But luckily for him, Winry saw no problem with the impromptu lunch since she soon started eating

“What? Izumi is young Ed” She said between bites. “At least compared to granny.” 

With nothing more to say, Edward bit a piece of the pie, discovering that he was more hungry than he thought. In addition to having little sleep, his breakfast toast barely supported his enormous hunger. Al was responsible for breakfast and normally Ed didn't leave the house until he had eaten his weight.

“I saw the board.” Winry's voice made Edward's head pop up quickly, facing her. He waited for her to continue, her eyes almost shining in the midday sun. “We really did it, right.”

“You didn’t believe me? When I told you we passed?” 

“I did,” She gazed his eyes. “It was just really nice to see the official paper and our names there.” 

Yeah, he knew what she meant. They worked so hard for almost a year in that project, late nights and early mornings, hundreds of written reports and countless experiments until they finally reached the final goal. Edward got beaten up pretty badly and Winry got physically injured because of it, but it was worth it. It was an awesome project, and if everything goes well in phase two, Winry would help a lot of people.

And in addition to all this, the icing on the cake, was Winry coming into his life, all of a sudden, with that sharp tongue and easy smile, her pretty blue eyes and her strong hands holding his, telling him not to hate his father, telling him he would be ok after everything and he couldn't help but think _how did I live twenty five years without you?_

After they finished eating, Edward gathered the papers and got up to throw them in the trash. When he came back, he could see Winry looking at the only paper bag he left behind. 

“Is there anything else in the bag?” Ed smiled warmly into her curious round eyes, she looked like a child waiting for a surprise after dinner. He carefully removed the mini lemon pie, decorated and small enough for one person, that he bought at the pastry on the edge of the campus. 

“You brought me a dessert?” She sounded so happy that it was worth the extra twenty-minute walk just to buy the pie. 

“Hm,” He snorted. “As if I didn't know you have a sugar tooth.”

Winry took the first bite, almost moaning. “That rainbow frappuccino was awesome.”

“Ew.” 

She stuck her tongue out. “You freak.”

“Sugar gremlin.” 

While she ate the last piece of pie, Edward wiped his cheek with his thumb, slowly caressing her soft skin. Winry looked at him, her face so close to his that he was almost tempted to steal a kiss from her. "There was grease on your cheek."

He approached her slowly, touching his nose to hers, as if asking for permission and when she didn't move, he tasted the lemon pie from her lips. The sugar almost burned his skin, but her lips were so soft, like warm velvet, that he pressed harder, wetting her bottom lip with his tongue. He can barely contain himself not to grab her right there. When he leaned back, her eyes were blurred, her breathing too fast for a simple kiss.

“What time do you finish here?” He heard himself say while he pecks her lips again.

“In three hours,” _That’s too long,_ “I’ll text you when I get out, ok?” 

* * *

Winry kissed him as she rode him, fast and hard, grabbing his long hair between her fingers. Sitting on her couch, jeans opened just enough to let his cock out and his white shirt on the floor, Edward could barely breathe. He leaned against the couch and got comfortable while Winry did all the work, moving up and down on his dick. 

Three hours and thirty minutes after Edward kissed her goodbye, Winry sent him a message saying she was already home. He only had time to change clothes and he was knocking on her door, while she answered smelling of dreams, bare feet, wet hair and wearing a mini skirt. It didn't take long; none of them trying to lie to themselves that Edward was there to watch a movie or maybe just chat. One look was enough, one bite on the lip and Edward was gone for her, making his way into her house, his hands holding her neck while he kissed her. 

The room was hot, so hot that when he wrapped his arms around Winry, he could feel the sweat running down on her lower back. He broke the kiss, leaning his head against the back of the sofa and exposing his neck. On top of him, with red cheeks, Winry looked like everything he ever wanted. 

Winry started kissing, licking and biting every bit of skin she could reach and he bit his lip, holding her waist tightly, trying to maintain control before it was over too soon. She was everything around him, all of his senses were filled with her. Her smell, her cursed, phenomenal smell, her beautiful blue eyes, her soft skin. Edward could barely think, his mind numb, being guided by where she was touching him. 

Her lips, her back, her tits, her legs, her cunt. _Fuck._

With each movement, he could feel her nipple piercing scraping against his chest, making him even harder. She was still wearing her mini skirt, he arrived at her house in such a hurry that she barely had time to pull up her tank top and her panties. 

“Win,” He managed to get out, gripping her ass tightly, as her tight wet cunt gripped around him. He felt his pleasure crest, swelling in waves and he knew what was about to happen.

She pulled her face from his neck, looking into his eyes, not stopping her moviments. 

_How is she so beautiful?_

“Coming?” Before she could finish the sentence, Edward hid his face in her neck, gripping her tighter and filling the condom. She was breathless on top of him, holding his hair in a tight grip and rolling her hips, his cock deep inside her. 

When Edward's heart started beating again and the sweat on his body started to cool, Winry whispered in his ear, "You have a thing for sofas, don't you?" 

Edward laughed out loud and knocked his head on the couch as she stared at him, her eyes mocking. When he could breathe again, he pulled out of her, securing the base of the condom, making sure nothing would spill and pushed her off gently. 

He pecked her lips before walking down the hallway, to the bathroom. He surfaced ten minutes later, only to find Winry laying on the couch, her long legs stretched out and the sun pouring out the window and over her, turning her into a goddess. Her mini skirt was hunched, all wrinkled, exposing her cunt to the air. Her nipples were erect and her piercing glistening with his saliva from all his sucking and licking on the tiny silver ball. 

Winry looked completely comfortable, eyes closed and a small satisfied smile on her face. Edward didn't know how much time he spent there, standing in front of her, just admiring, thinking that finally, _finally,_ he could have her all by himself. 

“What are you doing?” Her question broke his concentration. Instead of answering, he took his hair band from the small table and pinned it to a messy bun as he knelt in front of her. Edward took off her skirt and kissed the inside of her thighs - those beautiful, creamy thighs that he spent hours trying not to look at - and met her eyes.

“Tell me if you want me to stop.” Before she answered, he licked her pretty pink pussy. 

It was all red and wet from the earlier thrusts. Winry gasped and pushed her hands through his untamed locks. He spread his hand on her belly, weighing her down and began to suck, lick and even bite all the skin he could find. 

He licked her until she was shaking like a small earthquake, tears streaming down her cheeks and her back arching against the couch. She's so hot and so sweet under his lips that Edward wants to stay there forever, to crawl inside her and never leave because _this_ \- _this is ... divine_. 

When he lifted his lips, Winry looked at him with a satisfied smile on her face and bit her lower lip. He kissed the inside of her thigh and asked in a low voice, "Can I fuck you again?" 

  
  



	11. Can you hear my heartbeat?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I sincerely wish I was better at this. And I wish English to be my first language. I reviewed this chapter about four times, but I don't know how to make it better so... yeah. Low your expectations, guys! On the other hand, we're almost done! Just another chapter and the epilogue 😭 and thank you SO MUCH for all the kudos and comments and hits people! Thank your for reading this! 💖

The sound of the alarm clock cut through Edward like an ice cube running down his back. 

“No,” Edward growled at the back of her neck, pressing his face even harder in her soft skin. He wrapped one arm around her waist and the other around her shoulder, holding her tightly, keeping her in place. She was warm under his covers, the tender skin of her back touching his chest, her soft breathing matching his “It’s too early, stay.”

Winry moved lazily, first rubbing her face on the pillow like a sly cat and then reaching out to tap the phone, where the alarm sounded. She moaned and even though she muttered _I have to get up_ she turned to him, hiding her face in the crook of his neck. Winry wasn't a morning person, she usually preferred the night hours than early mornings and Edward had no problem with that, because that meant her, in his bed, clung to him all morning. 

Her warm breath tickled his skin. "I need to go home and change.”

"No."

"Yes."

"I'm cold," Edward breathed on her skin and glued his entire body to hers, trying to merge the two bodies. _The wonders of sleeping in an almost naked state._ "Stay."

"You're always cold." Winry murmured at the curve of his throat, her lips gently touching the skin. 

He _was_ always cold. Edward hated the winter in Central, but as he was cold, Winry was a furnace. Edward joked about she was always hot, that her skin would turn red from the high temperature, but it never happened. They would sleep under two covers and he would wake up chilly and she would be burning. 

“Don't go, you can shower here. Wear my clothes.” He squeezed her even harder, putting one leg between hers. “You did that last week anyway.” 

Somehow she fit perfectly in his arms. She really _really_ did. 

“I have two morning classes. And a meeting with Professor Dominic.” The arm around his neck tighten slightly before letting go completely. "I refuse to see him in man’s clothes.”

When she released him completely, she pushed her feet on the cold floor still sitting on the bed, facing the window where the winter sun cleared the room. She stretched her arms over her head, the only item on her body was her black panties, allowing Edward the magnificent vision of her nape and back, framed by the golden sun. 

_What I wouldn't give for a polaroid right now._

Winry bent down, petting Socket - who refused to sleep anywhere else without Winry - under the bed and he muttered under his breath, lying on his stomach and grabbing his pillow “You need to start leaving your clothes here.” 

She looked at him over her shoulder, eyes shining and hair dishevelled and she just - _smiles_. 

She had no business looking this happy, this beautiful, on a winter morning. 

Winry entered the bathroom and almost immediately Socket, watching her master leave, jumped on the bed and curled up in a small ball where Winry's pillow was. He never liked that fur thing, always screaming around the house and always tripping over his feet. And Edward knew that Socket didn't like him either. But since he and Winry started this, their thing - where they didn't put names, they didn't pressure each other for anything more than they could give and they definitely slept at each other's houses - Socket and Edward came to a mutual agreement of not being hostile to each other due their mutual interest in Winry's happiness.

Ed could bet it must be something related to the smell that Winry left on the pillow that made the cat jump on the bed. Ten minutes later, she left and started to dress, pulling on her bra first and then her jeans. He stared at her, like a thirsty man trapped in a desert, as he watched every inch of his skin being covered and he felt himself getting hard. 

_Don't._

_You fucked her twice last night._

_If you continue that way, she’ll dump you._

_Give her a break_. 

Lucky for him, he was lying on his stomach, so she didn't see any physical signs of what her nakedness did to him. 

“Lunch together then?” Edward heard himself say. 

“Can’t. I have to go to Garfield’s in the afternoon.” 

“Oh,” Winry pulled the t-shirt over her head, smoothing her hair with her hand “I’ll see you later then.”

“No,” She started to look for her boots, under the bed “I need to study at night.”

“So? I’ll help you.”

“Edward,” She turned to him, eyes stopping on his covered ass under the sheet. She almost smiled; he could see the corner of her lips going up. “Last time you crawled under the table and started to lick me while I was writing my report. I was lucky Dominic didn’t notice the poor handwriting.” 

"Your handwriting _is_ terrible," Winry raised her brows “And it’s not my fault if your cunt taste like honey.” 

Winry laughed loudly, carefree "You have such a dirty mouth." 

He didn't. Not really. He was never the one to say dirty things for girls, but there's just something about her that makes him this talking mess, that disconnects the line between his brain and mouth. 

Winry picked up her phone from the nightstand and began to put on her earrings, one by one, while Socket rose from her spot and majestically began to rub herself on Winry's elbow and thigh, asking for affection. Winry leaned over, muttering sweet words as she rubbed the cat's head. It was the first time that Edward was jealous of that bundle of fur. 

"You spend an inordinate amount of time petting her." Edward hated how clingy he sounded.

Winry smiled, as seeing perfectly through his act. "Not as much as I pet _you._ " 

After she was ready to go and he hadn't moved an inch since she got out of the bed, Winry grabbed her bag from the table and walked towards him. Edward eyed her carefully, her winter coat almost engulfing her slim form, the red scarf and pink lips. He couldn't help but say “I like when you wear my clothes. You look nice in them.” 

“When I don’t look nice?” She leaned over, kissing his lips slowly. “I like wearing your clothes too, they have your smell.” 

Edward smiled to himself as she closed the door. _This girl._

Edward understood that feeling very well. Almost always when Winry left his room, he hugged her pillow and snuggled his face there, smelling her. She always left a floral scent behind her, he didn't know if it was her perfume or her shampoo, but he associated that particular smell with her. 

He woke up two hours later, not realizing that he ended up falling asleep after Winry left. He wondered if he really needed to get up but the sound of Al moving around the kitchen tells him that he has food ready and his stomach growled with hunger. Edward stood up, ignoring Socket, and put his black robe around his bare torso. If sleeping in his underwear was cold inside the covers, outside it was freezing.

Al had his back to him, his little brother whistling as he cooked scrambled eggs on the stove and poured coffee into a cup. Al always loved the mornings, Edward could count on the fingers of one hand how many days Al got up in a bad mood in his life.

“Morning.” Edward grunted more than actually said.

“Oh, morning brother!” Al turned, picking up a new cup and pouring coffee as Ed sat on the small table, in the middle of the kitchen. The newspaper was on top of it, near the pancakes and Ed immediately picked it up. 

After the third sip of coffee took effect and Edward's brain finally started to work, he asked as he chewed the rest of the pancakes. “How are your classes going? Everything ok?”

“Yeah, it’s fine. Actually, I had a presentation - the one I talked about, remember? About the human body? - and I did really well. The professor even wrote a note saying it could be published as an article.” 

“That’s really good, Al. Articles help your score in the final, if you want to try a PhD or something.” 

Al smiled after sipping his coffee. “Yeah, I thought the same thing. Let me grab the presentation, I want your opinion on it.”

Al continued to speak, but Ed was not listening, going through the newspaper in search of _his_ own article. Knox said it would be published in the Central newspaper, but he hasn't found it yet. He was turning the fifth page when Al stopped abruptly, in the middle of the hall, almost sliding on the wooden floor.

“Why is Jack sleeping in your bed?”

“Hm?” Maybe Knox forgot to send the paper? Or maybe he got the publishing date wrong? _Where is it?_

“Jack hates you,” Ed got to the last page where there is a quote and a photo of Mustang looking like a pompous idiot in an article about him being the youngest director of all time. "She _never_ walks into your room, much less sleeps in it. The only people she sleeps with is me and–” 

There was a loud gasp, loud enough to get Edward’s attention from the paper and look at his brother’s open mouth and wide eyes. 

“Brother,” he started slowly, excitement bubbling in his voice “Did Winry sleep here?” 

He must have seen something on Edward’s face - maybe the way he looked down or the way his ears burned with embarrassment - but that was enough confirmation for Alphonse. 

“Oh my god,” He was crossing the hallway and sitting at the table faster than Edward could imagine “Tell me _everything._ ” 

Edward, who was about to take another sip of coffee, stopped in mid-action, the cup halfway to his lips and looked at Al, eyebrows arched. 

“Well, not everything.” Al continued, smiling “I don’t want to know the sordid details, but how…where did you-…when?”

Edward took a sip of his coffee and cleared his throat “Hm, Ling’s party.”

" _What?"_ Al looked wide-eyed, slapping his hand on the table “That was almost two months ago. Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I thought the penny would drop at some point, seeing she’s almost here every morning.” Edward stuffed his fork with the scrambled eggs and stuck it in his mouth “It’s not like I’m trying to hide it.”

“She’s _not_ here every morning. I have never seen her.”

“She was here today, Al. She left like, an hour ago.” 

“Oh,” It looked like someone had slapped Al. 

Edward smiled, smug “You haven’t noticed probably because you're too busy with your own xingenese affair.” 

Now it was Al’s turn to blush “But still, you could have told me. Or Winry. I’m going to text her right now.” He started to get up, looking for his phone when Edward’s hand and voice caught his attention. 

“Don’t do that,” Alphonse looked at his brother’s hand on his arm “Just… not now? Maybe there’s a reason why she didn’t tell you. Maybe she wants to keep it quiet for now. And I don’t know if she said anything to Paninya. I just … I don’t want to pressure her, okay?” 

Something apparently gave in because Al’s eyes changed, his face softened as if he understood very well, probably even better than Edward himself, what Edward meant. 

“I never thought I’d see you like this.” 

Ed frowned “Like what?” 

But Alphonse just smiled, shaking his head “Nothing. I won’t say anything. At least, not now.” 

Edward sighed with relief as his brother continued “But you bet I’ll bully _you._ ” 

Edward chuckled. After a moment of silence and agreement between the brothers, Al went to the bedroom and brought the presentation. It was very good and Edward gave only a few instructions on how to turn it into an article. Edward stood up, going to the sink to wash the coffee dishes, while Al returned to the living room, after he put away his notes.

"Brother," Al's voice was so unsure, that Edward looked up from the glass he was washing to find his brother, leaning against the doorframe in the hall "I want to talk to Dad."

An iceberg sliced through Ed’s spine, his voice harsher than he wanted “What?”

“I just want to hear what he has to say, that's all.” 

"He has nothing to say, Al.”

“You don’t know that.” 

“Argh,” Edward grunted, slamming his hands on the sink, splashing water everywhere “He's a jerk, that's all. Stop being a child, you’re not going to talk to him.”

"Well, it's not for you to decide." Al thickened his voice, hands fisted at his sides. He looked everywhere but Ed's eyes "And the teacher supported me, she said if this is what I wanted, then I should-"

“You talked to her about this?” He could almost hear the betrayal in his voice. 

Al sighed, his hands gripping the bridge of his nose. After ten seconds, he said “Look, Ed, I am _talking_ to him, either you like it or not-”

“I don’t.”

“Yeah, I noticed that,” Al frowned, almost kicking the kitchen chair. Ed returned to the dishes, rubbing the glass in his hand harder than necessary. He wanted nothing more than to discuss it or even deny that Al met their father, but ... Al was an adult. He could do whatever he wanted, with or without Ed's approval. When the silence was almost unbearable, Al broke it.

“I… ” Al looked so vulnerable, so small. “I don’t want go alone, and I think it would be nice, if you talked to him too, so I’d like you to go with me.”

"You're insane, if you think I'm going to sit in front of him and listen to what he has to say." Ed burst through the kitchen, abandoning the dishes as Al sighed irritably.

“Sometimes, you’re a real jerk too, you know that Ed.” Al grunted as Ed slammed the bedroom door in his face. 

* * *

Edward was walking through the park after his meeting with Professor Knox, the phone in his hands, about to text Winry when a flash of blond hair crossed his eyes. Coincidentally, Winry was sitting alone on one of the benches, hands under her legs, face down.

Edward was about to call her name when he noticed her shoulders shaking slightly, as if she were crying. He walked quickly towards her. _Something is wrong_ going through his mind. What happened? She was fine when they talked during lunch - she texted him a picture of a very debatable mac and cheese that had expired but since she forgot lunch _again_ that was her only option - and later when she was still at Garfield's and that she would go home to study. 

The most absurd and various scenarios rushed crossed his mind, as he walked towards her. Maybe something happened at work? She and Garfield got along, she’s always mentioned how he paid her fairly and on the day. Maybe that was something about her grandmother? That scenario would be bad. But then, an even worse one appeared, when he remembered her sitting in a similar position, months ago in a cold infirmary, and his heart started to beat faster just like it did that day when Al texted him, saying Winry was hurt. What if Greed showed up at the shop? What if he threatened her? What if-? 

“Winry,” He touched her shoulder lightly, trying not to startle her. 

When she looked up, her face was red, her lips were swollen and her eyes - _she is crying_. 

Before he said anything, she whispered _Ed_ in such a broken way, his heart almost broke. He hated seeing her cry. He hurriedly pushed her aside, sitting next to her and hugging her shoulders, while she hid her face in his neck. 

“What happened? Talk to me.” Edward whispered in her hair. 

Winry sobbed, hiding her face even more. Edward could feel his shirt getting wet with her tears and, unconsciously, he tightened his hands around her. This cry was not the same as the day their research was stolen or even the day she told about her parents. No, that cry was more painful, deeper.

When she finally managed to breathe a little, sobbing, she rubbed the sleeves of her coat over her eyes and nose, as if to keep the tears from flowing. Her voice was broken, the words coming out in pieces.

"I was working in the workshop, and then there was a loud noise and a car hood wasn’t attached properly and ended up falling on Miles’s head really fast, so Garfiel and I ran to help him, you know, he was bleeding on forehead and then-" She gasped, sitting upright "He took off his glasses so we could bandage, and you know I never saw him without his glasses on? I don't know why he never takes this thing off - actually, I do know _now_ , but yeah. He took them off and his eyes are red. Miles is an Ishvalan, Ed."

He stared at her, not exactly understanding what was her point. That's the end of the story? 

"Remember when I told you about my parents?" _As if I could forget._ "The man who murdered them, the man they saved and ended up killing my parents, was an Ishvalan."

“Winry,” He whispered, finally understanding the implications of what she was saying. 

"It's not fair. I know. Miles is an amazing guy, he's always kind and he never treats me in a condescending way, you know? I have no reason to feel this way, he's nothing like that man but still, here I am, crying at night in a park, alone, because of that."

“You're not alone.”

“I feel so terrible,” She sniffed, rubbing her sleeves over her nose “I feel like shit, Ed.”

“I can’t even imagine what you’re feeling right now.” 

“It’s so confusing, you know? On one hand, I know, rationally, there’s no reason for this reaction. He’s nothing like that man, and I _cannot_ blame him for something that someone, who happens to have the same origin as him, the same color of eyes and skin, did years ago. And I feel even worse, because he must get that look every time he tells someone he’s Ishvalan, I mean why would he hide it, right?”

Edward couldn't do anything at that moment, except hold her while she spoke. “But then… I remember my parents, and that horrible trial that I went through and I remember all the feelings I had because, for so long, _he_ was the face, the eyes who murdered my parents, who took them away from me, and it’s so hard to feel different, so hard to accept.” 

“We don’t always control our feelings, Win. Sometimes they get the best of us,” He kissed the top of her head, breathing in her scent “But you’re already one step ahead, you already understand the situation and your feelings and you are already trying to be a better human being.” _This girl, this incridible girl._

“And maybe… ” Ed continued, listening to her cry softly “You just need time, you know? Take a few days off at Garfield’s. Take a few days to clear your head and breathe. And then, when you’re feeling better, you can talk to him. About your story. If everything you say it’s true, then he’ll understand” He breathed on her hair, trying to find the right thing to say “And if he doesn't understand, I can always punch him for you.”

Winry laughed a little, the sound a bit strangled as if it had been punched out her chest, but after a moment, her tears falling on her cheek and her quiet sobs continued. 

“And… ” Ed’s voice faltered a little, because if this was difficult for him, he could only imagine what it was like for her “Don’t judge all Ishvalans for the actions of one, because... I mean, your parents saved him, right? They were Amestrians and they saved an Ishvalan. That must mean something.” 

The silence stretched for a little, as if she was processing his words. “I never thought that way before." She took a deep breath, Edward could feel when she calmed down, her body more relaxed against his. 

_I’ll never not be amazed by how much she trusts me_. 

Edward hugged her, wanting to take all the pain out of her, feeling his heart almost tighten in his chest and almost jump; a small reaction that Ed compared to what a hummingbird heart would be like. For now, already a familiar feeling, that he took a long time to understand, and that, at first he honestly thought there was something wrong with him, maybe even a medical condition, if it weren't for - of all the people in his circle - Ling.

Edward remembered a night, months ago, him sitting in a dirty bar, with noisy and loud people near him, celebrating Al's birthday and listening to Winry tell a story about how she delivered a baby on her own. He remembered leaning against the outside wall, staring at her red cheeks from the cold wind, her blue eyes reflecting the stars and hearing her say _yeah, humans are awesome._ He remembered looking at her for so long as she walked down the street that when Ling appeared beside him, Winry's silhouette was no longer in sight and he remembered what followed more clearly than anything else that night. 

Ling staring at him, with a knowing look, and asking uncharacteristically serious, "Are you in love with her?"

And Edward had thought _love, what a stupid question_ but answered nonetheless. "I just want her to have everything she needs. And for her to be happy. And safe." He stared at Ling's eyes. "Is that love?"

A memory had struck him as soon as he asked: Al, with the plump face of an eleven-year-old boy, coughing hard on the bed, sweat running down his temple and a white cloth on his forehead, and Ed trying so hard to make him better, make him well, save him so that he wouldn't have the same fate as his mother. But he was only 12, didn't know about medicine or treatment, and it was his decision to be alone in Resembool, his arrogant and stupid decision that they could live together, with no one separating them. And then-

Then, Ed picking up the phone and calling the nearby hospital and the Social Service to come and take his brother, to make him better, to save him because even if they ended up in terrible foster houses with no food or electricity with terrible foster parents who would force them to work, even if they starve, even if they were separated forever by the foster system, was still a better alternative than losing Alphonse. Ed was willing to sacrifice everything he knew, everything he had, to keep Al safe and happy. 

And Edward already knew the answer before Ling said, "Yes, Ed. It is." 

After minutes that they were sitting in silence, her tears stopped and became a small sniffle softly. Ed could almost feel his nose freezing on that cold night as they sat on that bench, the street lights illuminating the park. When he felt Winry calm down, Edward stood up and offered his hand to her "Let's go."

She looked up, meeting his eyes, and took his hand carefully. “Where are we going?” 

“To your home,” He picked up her bag from the floor, and gave it a slight tug, putting her to her feet. “First, you're going to take a shower. A long, extremely hot shower and you won't be leaving until you feel better.”

He closed the distance between the two, placing her hair gently behind the ear. “Then, you'll eat all the junk food that I'm going to buy while you're in the shower.”

Winry's blue eyes gleamed for him. "Including the purple pumpkin muffin with strawberry topping?"

"Yes," Edward sighed, remembering the day she forced him to eat that. "Including those horrible things. And soda, popcorn and even a chocolate bar with hazelnut.”

“No. A chocolate bar? You're really going beast mode, huh.” 

“Shut up.” 

“And then what?”

“Then, you'll put those comfy pajamas you sleep on-”

“These days, I have been sleeping with your shirt.” 

Edward's lips curved, almost forming a smile at that. “And then, we'll lay down under three covers - thank God, _without_ that bundle of fur - and watch that stupid movie you like so much.” 

"Which one?" Edward could tell, just from her face, that she knew exactly what he's talking about, but she would make him say it anyway.

“That one,” He sighed, feigning irritation. “The one you made me watch five times because the main character is _tall, dark and handsome_ and they are enemies to lovers or something stupid like that.”

“Or something.” Winry was trying not to smile and that meant that Edward managed to improve her mood, if only a little.

“And then?”

“I’m afraid that’s all I got.” He linked his hands with hers. "If that doesn't make you happy, I don't know what else will."

“I thought you’d offer sex.” 

Edward shrugged, placing her bag on his shoulder. “That’s _always_ on the table, but I think pampering and snuggling will have more effect.” 

She smiled fully, fondness on her eyes as she leaned slowly pecking his lips and nuzzling his chin. Something inside Edward clicked and he sighed, feeling tired. If Winry could handle something monumental like that, and still smile at the end of the day for him, Edward could very well sit for an hour in front of his father, even though he was going to hate every minute.

"I need to call Al," Winry looked at him in alarm, trying to understand the abrupt change. "He wants to talk to our father and he wants me there with him."

“Oh,” Winry leaned back, looking carefully into his eyes. “Do _you_ want to talk to your father?” 

"No," He rubbed his available hand over his forehead. "But Al doesn't want to go alone, so...yeah." He looked into her eyes again; they looked more blue after crying.

_She just cried for an hour. How is she so beautiful?_

"We can talk about this later."

She nodded, gripping his fingers tighter. “Okay.” 

Edward leaned over, pecking her soft lips, whispering _Okay_ as he pulled their intertwined hands and they walked along the sidewalk together. 


	12. They say that the world was built for two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First and foremost, everyone please give a big round of applause to Kurizh, she's the responsible for editing this chapter to make it perfect! And second: just a heads up, there will be explicit sexual content in this chapter, so please proceed responsibly and only if you're comfortable.

“You have to be quiet,” Ed said in a low voice, his lips brushing lightly against her ear. He could feel a drop of sweat falling off his forehead and landing on the pillow, next to her head, his thumb slowly stroking her neck. Edward felt like his lower body was on fire. 

He could feel more than see Winry in the dark room. The sun wasn't up yet, so her body was only a silhouette on his white sheets. He had no idea what time was, he only knew he woke up in the middle of the night, feeling her body pressed against his, her smell – her _cursed divine smell–_ stuck on his nose and he just…slid his arm across her belly, pressed his lips to her neck, swiping his tongue over her pulse, until she moaned, her eyes half lidded. Winry had grabbed his hair, pushed his lips down until they closed on her nipple, his tongue moving against her piercing. He made her come with barely-there-touches on her clit, moving slowly his finger up and down her wet cunt and when he whispered _yes?_ she just nodded and he only had time to put the condom on, before eased himself slowly inside her, sinking like a rock into a lake. 

She was all warm and sleepy, and if Ed focused, he could come just by hearing her little moans on his ear, her hands gripping his back, as he fucked her with slow, shallow thrusts. He could feel his sweat pooling against her tummy as his stomach rubbed against hers, overheated – he had pushed the covers aside but they were still too hot. Winry breathed softly, as his cock lodged deep inside her, and everytime he hammered his pelvis, her moans grew louder, uncontrolled.

 _Thank God Socket is sleeping with Al._

For a moment, Edward wondered if this would stop someday. If he would eventually get enough of her or maybe if this fanatic drive that took over him whenever he saw her semi naked or felt her skin against him would eventually decrease. Luckily, for him, Winry didn't seem to mind his lingering touches or the desperate way he would kiss her if they spend a few days without seeing each other. 

Edward pushed his body up, putting his weight on his forearms, each hand on one side of her head, his hair creating a curtain between them. Trying to see her face in the dark, he noticed Winry's eyes were half lidded and her bottom lip trapped by her teeth, trying to contain her moans. Edward stopped his movements suddenly, sitting on his ankles with his knees under her thighs, and grabbed her slim waist with his both hands. The change in angle made Winry moan loudly – louder than before and Edward prayed Al wouldn't wake up – as she grabbed the pillow with her hands, clenching her nails on the white sheet. 

He could see her shape in the dark room, the blond hair spilled on his pillow, her lower lip trapped in her teeth, her breasts jumping at every movement he made, her defined tummy. He could bet her cheeks and chest were flushed, red colouring the white skin. If he wanted to torture himself and end things too soon, he only had to look down so he could see her pussy all stretched around his cock. 

Instead, Edward fixed his golden eyes at the little silver piercing on her nipple. 

“You love it, don’t you?” Winry’s voice was low, maybe even rough, when she said studying his face carefully. 

“What?” He could hardly think with his cock inside her. The numb mind sensation, the sweat dripping on his back, her tight cunt clenching his cock. Even through the condom, he could feel how _warm_ she was, how wet. It was all too much. He had to focus all his energy in not coming, not ending too fast. 

“The piercing,” she breathed, moaning softly after he thrusted a bit harder, a bit faster. That got his attention. He looked down at her, mouth red from all the biting, breasts bouncing at every movement. _Fuck._

_These tits will be the death of me._

“It was a dare,” Winry clenched a bit harder and Edward continued his moviments, picking up a faster pace as he pinned her down to the bed. He tried to listen to her and at the same time, focus on his own breathing. “On my eighteen birthday.”

He grabbed her waist harder, knees digging into the mattress. He could tell he would leave a mark on her white skin. Edward closed his eyes, focusing on the hot shudders on his spine. 

“Actually, it was meant to be a clit piercing.”

Oh shit.

Oh shit. 

_Oh shit_.

He felt a shudder run through his spine.

“Fuck, Win.” Edward felt himself losing control. He was going to come just by picturing her little clit pierced. 

His movements became erratic, he started to pound into her harder, the only sound in the room was the slap between their bodies when his pelvis connected to her thighs and the static in his ear. Before Edward could come, he thumbed the little nerve bound until Winry arched her spine and clenched him so hard that Edward just threw his head back, looked at the ceiling, and filled the condom. 

When he came back to earth, after the little dots disappeared behind his eyes, breathing hard and hands shaking, he lowered his body until their stomach was pressed together, his hands at each side of her head, kissing her slowly. 

Winry's hands grabbed his face, her lips tender and smooth as she kissed his lips, his cheek and forehead. He moved, lying exhausted beside her. She turned, giving small kisses to his neck, biting his ear, running her fingers through Edward's hair. 

“Why do you always become a petting machine after sex?”

Winry chuckled. “Don't pretend you don't like it.”

Edward turned his head, embracing her in silence. After a few seconds of just feeling her soft skin and nibbling her lower lip, he said “I _do_ love your piercing.”

Winry laughed softly in his mouth, her smile was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. 

_I could kiss that smile every day._

After Edward came back from the bathroom – pushing a warm towel between her legs because she hated feeling sticky after – he gave Winry a glass of water, watching the drops run down her chin and drip on the bed. She was always, _always_ , thirsty after having sex. 

He laid down behind her, hugging her slim waist, and pulled the sheet over them. She fitted perfectly into the curve of his body. All warm, soft, and sleepy. 

She didn’t even bother to put on clothes afterwards. But this was Winry, welcoming him inside her heart the same way she did with her body: unreservedly, enthusiastically with all the care and happiness she could give. 

While Winry got sleepy after sex, Edward’s mind got too worked up to rest. He spent the next two hours moving his hand through her body, squeezing her arms, massaging the tight knots on her back, while his mind would wander between his week assignments, the new chemistry formulas he would try at the lab and the new article he was writing. But eventually, he would look at Winry, hair disheveled, soft breathing, her peaceful features and and all he could think was _how the fuck did I get so lucky?_

When the sun started to rise, the orange rays appearing on the window, Edward propped his head on his hand as he moved the tip of his fingers down her arm. Winry stirred, groaning, her eyes opening as she rubbed her face. He knew exactly why she was waking up so early. Edward waited for her to turn to him, so that he could bend down and whisper in her ear “Let me guess, there's a monster inside your belly.”

“Argh. You are insufferable.” She scrunched her nose, her stomach growling. 

“But a cute one, right?” He smirked when she snorted in response. Edward laughed as he kissed the tip of her nose. “C'mon, I'll make you a toast while Al doesn't wake up.”

Edward was putting the kettle on the fire, dressed in nothing but his flannel pants, his hair scraping on his naked back, when Winry surfaced from his bedroom wearing his boxers and one of his old t-shirts. She opened the fridge and moaned frustrated, looking for any decent food. Lucky for her, him and Al went shopping two days ago so there was more than just eggs and water inside. 

“Wait. Is that milk?” 

“Hm?” Edward had already put two slices of bread in the toaster and lifted his face from the two bananas he was peeling, turning his head to see her leaning figure almost inside the fridge “Oh, yes. Ew. Al bought it for Socket.” 

“I thought you'd buy it for me.”

“Ew, no.” He started to cut the bananas into small slices; he liked morning smoothies but Winry loved to eat pancakes with fruits. “Why would I do that?” 

“My daily cappuccino?” She grabbed the eggs and turned to the counter, already setting the ingredients for pancakes. 

“Argh. I already have to deal with your sugar mania, with you stealing my clothes and I'm slicing fruit, right at this moment, just for you, instead of reading my paper and drinking my black coffee. And don't get me started on the cat.” Edward could hear Winry's laugh from the other side of the kitchen, his back was turned to her as she moved around. “You're so lucky that I love you.”

There was sudden silence in the kitchen, the only sound was Ed's knife connecting with the board. He frowned, trying to understand the sudden change in the air, until finally the penny dropped. 

_Did I–?_

_Did I just say–?_

_Fuck._

_It's okay. It's fine. Maybe she didn't hear you._ _Just gonna pretend nothing happened._

_Yeah._

_Maybe that will work._

“Did you… just say you love–?” She sounded puzzled, maybe a little hoarse. 

_Fuck. She_ did _hear you._

“Nope.” _It's worth a try._ Edward refused to move and look at her, his eyes never leaving the wooden cabinet in front of him. He could feel the tip of his ears burning. 

“Oh. Okay.” Surprisingly, it worked. He could hear more than see Winry turning to her task. He heard some noises, a glass hitting the counter, water running down the sink. When he saw his pehiperical vision, Winry turned abruptly to him with a skeptical expression “Are you sure you didn't…?” 

_Fucked._

_I'm so fucked._

“Okay. I… Okay.” Edward turned his body towards Winry, rubbing his hands on the side of his thighs. His cheeks were burning. His ears were burning. He looked everywhere but her. Maybe he should just tell her. Yeah, that's okay. Girls liked these things, right? What's the worst it could happen? _She walks out of here and you never see her again,_ his inner voice answered a second later. That would be bad, definitely the worst case scenario. But would she? Walk out and never see him again? They had been doing this for _months_ now, even though they didn't name it, they walked with joined hands around the campus, they kissed in the middle of the halway, and she _did_ have a picture of the two of them, in a very romantic way, on the photo wall in her apartment. “I said it, but… it doesn't have to mean anything. If you don't want to.” 

She just looked at him, in the middle of his kitchen, as if trying to process an inordinate amount of information in a very short time frame. He got even more nervous when she didn't say anything in response. 

“Hm. You don't have to say it back. Actually, I shouldn't have said it. Yeah.” He scrunched his head, eyeing the floor. “Yeah, that sounds good. We can talk about the weather instead. This summer is so hot, right?” 

He only noticed Winry approaching when she connected her cold hands on his tummy. She spread her fingers, her small hands trying to extend all over his skin. She was so close he could count the shades of blue on her eyes, her breasts were almost touching his chest. When she spoke, Edward could feel her lungs expanding at every breathing. 

“You love me?” She said as if testing the words in her mouth. 

He had nowhere to hide. _Shit_. Edward swallowed hard, wondering if she could feel his heart beating fast. Suddenly, he found the counter extremely interesting. “Yeah, I kind of do.”

Winry smirked, her eyes shining. “Thank God.” Edward stared at her in surprise. “Because I happen to love you too. It would be awkward if I was the only in love in this relationship.”

Edward felt like his heart would expand and burst inside his chest. He could barely control his huge smile as he circled his arms around her waist, inside the oversized t-shirt, hugging her tightly. She loved him. _She loved him?_

“Yeah?” He whispered, his cheek hurting. He felt like a little boy who just found the Christmas presents beneath the tree on a cold morning. 

Winry laughed – _the most beautiful sound in this fucking world_ –, crossing her arms behind his head, leaning to brush her lips against his. “Yeah.”

 _I've loved you for so long it almost hurts_. 

Edward pressed himself against her, deepening the kiss, feeling her warm, soft skin, feeling lucky that this awesome girl had somehow fallen in love with him, that he, somehow without even looking for someone, found her. How many people went through life without this kind of happiness? Edward had never thought much about love, about loving others or being loved. Sure, he had his weird dysfunctional family, with the silent but respectful Sig, the beat-you-while-teaching-things-is-my-way-to-show-love Izumi, with his brother, whom Edward would do absolutely _anything_ for. But he never worried about this, about finding his other half, about giving his heart to someone and not wanting back. And now– 

Yeah. 

Now, he had her. Winry. He had her and a year and half of memories of the two of them, of them fighting, of them smiling, of him loving her silently because he couldn't jeopardize _her_ project, of him asking silently for her to love him back because he wanted to be happy but he wanted even more for Winry to be happy. 

One year and a half of Winry holding his hand in the lab. Winry, stealing his food while he wasn't watching. Winry smiling at his terrible joke at Al's party. Winry bandaging his cuts and kissing his cheek, gently, in a dimly lit room. Thank god he was really hurt that day, otherwise he would have pulled her under those covers and kissed her all night

Edward had never thought much about love, but somehow that's all he could think about now.

An angry meow broke their kiss. Edward sighed, tightening his arms on her waist, knowing fully well Winry would leave his arms to pet the furry thing. He pecked her lips once more before she stepped back, smiling shyly at him and bent down to pick up Socket. The cat bent its head and proceeded to rub herself on Winry's neck and face. 

She may love Edward, but she also loved the cat.

Edward turned just in time to watch his brother appear in the kitchen doorway, rubbing his eyes and yawning “Morning, Al.” 

“Morning, brother.” Al stretched his arms and sniffed the air “Is there something burning?” 

That was the cue for the toaster to spit out the two slices of bread. They were completely black, just like coal.

Al sighed and looked at Winry. “You can't let him cook alone, Win. He's like a child.” 

“Oi! I'm standing right here.” They both laughed as Al approached the counter. 

Winry was still grabbing the cat when she said to him “Shouldn't you be better at this? Like, wasn't chemistry born in the kitchen?” 

He eyed her suspiciously, walking towards her. “Humpf. How's that pancake going, gearhead?”

“Oh, you're making pancakes?” Al turned his happy face towards them, excited. He loved Winry's pancakes. And cake. And pretty much anything she cooked because, like her, Al loved sweets. 

“I was,” Winry stared at Edward, barely containing her smirk, “but then I got distracted.”

Edward smiled, feeling his cheeks warm. He was not at all sorry for that. 

* * *

Edward was turning the corner when he spotted her. She was standing under the tree – the apple blossom that she loved – in front of her apartment. He slowed down a moment, taking time to look at her without being noticed. Winry's short blonde hair seemed to reflect the sunlight, the strands moving freely as the wind caught them. From that distance he could see the earrings sparkle in her ear. 

Her face was turning towards the sky, eyes closed, as if she was bathing in the sunlight. 

His eyes went down from her face, sliding over her lovely neck and the junction with her shoulder – the place where he loved giving small kisses in the morning because she always laughed and giggled, and if he ran his tongue along, she would shiver and moan – to her cleavage and he instantly thought of her piercing and the night before–.

_Why am I always thinking about sex when I’m with her?_

Edward approached slowly, silently, trying no to startle her, when his brain finally registered she was wearing a pink dress. 

He was only three steps away when he said “Are those strawberries in your dress?” 

Winry opened her eyes suddenly, surprised to see him so close. Her eyes traveled up and down, noticing his white shirt, the sleeves rolled up to the elbows, the dark jeans and fancy shoes. That was probably the first time she had seen him looking that way, so formal by his standards. 

“Hm, yeah. Why?” She looked down, self consciously running her hands on the dress, fixing the non-existing wrinkles. 

“I’ve never seen you wear a dress before.” Suddenly he remembered Al’s party, where she showed up in a small black dress that made him want to fuck her boobs. “Well, not a pink one, at least.”

“What’s wrong with a pink dress?” Winry puzzled, looking up and down her clothes. 

“Nothing, you look cute... It’s just different” Edward shrugged, sliding their fingers together and kissing her blushed cheeks. 

Winry looked away, fumbling her hands through her small purse “I wanted to look nice, I’ve never met someone’s mother before.” 

“If it helps, she’s not my mother.” Edward bent his knees to meet her eyes, his ponytail swinging at the motion. “And you’ve met her, remember? The day you fixed my sink.” 

“Yes, but I wasn’t… you know–” 

“Not really,” He held back his laugh. Something was different. Quieter than Winry was used to.

Winry's cheeks got redder, clearly embarrassed, and then she sighed in resignation. “I wasn’t your girlfriend, back then.” 

“That’s what you are? My girlfriend?” Edward smirked, she was clearly pissed at something and this was not the time to push her, unless he wanted to get his ass beat. 

“Well, you are taking me to meet your parents right? I think this counts for something.” 

Edward bent down and gave a small kiss on her lips. _Yes, it does._ He loved this type of kiss, the ones he would only feel her pink lips and her warmth. He leaned back, staring at her indecise eyes. Winry kept glancing at the ground, running her hand through her hair or removing an invisible thread from her dress. She was clearly insecure, and not in a heartbroken way. 

“Hey,” he waited until she looked at him, blue finding gold, to continue. “What's going on?” 

“Nothing.”

The way she said it made something click in Edward's brain.

“It's okay. I'm sure she'll like you.” 

She didn't even look surprised when he figured it out. “You don't know that.” 

“I do.” 

“How?” 

Edward grabbed her hand, pulling her closer to him “I just do. Trust me.” 

“That's not enough. She might hate me. I mean, she thought you were ditching class to hook up with me, maybe she thinks I'm not a good influence, I don't know.” Winry bit her lip. “I just don't want to disappoint her. Or screw this up.” 

“I don't think you can do that, even if you wanted to. There are very few things you could do to disappoint her. Or me. Maybe murdering someone. But that really depends on the circumstances.” 

“Ed, I'm serious.” 

“Me too!” He stared at her, noticing the uncertainty in her eyes. He sighed, rubbing his forehead. “I don't think you know the lengths I'd go for you. The two of us are for the long run, Win. So, I _know_ Izumi will like you because _I_ like you, okay?” 

She blinked, staring at him silently. Apparently that was enough, because after a few seconds, she whispered _okay_ , smiling shyly. He didn't have time to process what he had just said and be ashamed because Winry turned to pick a small cardboard box placed on the bench that Edward had somehow failed to notice. He raised his eyebrows, asking silently for an explanation. 

Winry just shrugged, “I made apple pie, for the family.”

“It's a birthday party, Winry. There will be a lot of food. Trust me, if you think I eat a lot, wait until you see Sig.” 

She slapped his arm with her free hand “I know there will be food. It's a gift! It's Izumi's birthday, I can't just show up there empty handed.”

“It's a two hour train ride until Dublith!” 

“And? It's a pie, not ice cream, Ed. It's not like it's going to melt or something.”

“Argh, fine. But let's go, we can't miss the train.” 

He pulled her to the sidewalk, walking a little faster than normal. The station wasn't nearby but it wasn't far either, if they hurried, they could get there with time left. It was Al's idea to bring the _girlfriends_ to Izumi's birthday party. Usually, she would come to Central with Sig so they could celebrate without the brothers missing any classes or Al asking for leave from work. But this year, she wasn't feeling good enough for travel, so they were coming to her. 

Edward didn't want to think what that implied. Al might be the sensible one, the brother who laid beside Izumi to hear her tell stories, and helped her cook and hug her at least three times a day, but, after it was decided they were going to Dublith this year, Edward pretended not to notice how his hands started shaking and only stopped three hours after the call because he could not bear to think about a life without her. He was very much like Izumi, strong headed and stubborn, he had an easier time yelling than showing affection. And even though he refused to call her mother – more out of respect for Trisha, than anything – Izumi was very much _his_ mother. 

And at first he didn't think it was a good idea to take Mai and Winry to Dublith and spend an entire day there, with the whole neighborhood coming down for Izumi's birthday and all the annoying questions that would be asked to both of them. 

But the more he reflected, the more he thought it might be a good idea. He didn't know about Mai, but Winry and Izumi would probably get along very well. Izumi liked strong, independent women, and Winry met all of those requirements. And the idea of showing the city where he and Al grew up, the butcher shop where they helped Sig and even the embarrassing photo album Izumi kept from their childhood, excited Edward about the trip. 

They arrived at the station, almost breathless, and luckily they still had a few minutes before the train arrived. Edward presented the two tickets – he bought Winry's ticket in secret, even before she agreed to come on this trip, because the only way he could make the invitation was simply to say _I already bought your ticket, are you coming?_ – to the collector and craned his neck, finding Al's golden head near the coffee cart. 

A loud whistle caught Edward's attention, indicating that their train would stop on the platform any second. He turned, raising his arm to get Al's attention and indicate that they were going to board. They stood on the platform, watching the train stop, whistling loudly. Ed grabbed Winry's hand and when he was about to tell her that this was their train, she was already looking at him, an affectionate smile on her face, her eyes shining in the midday sun.

“What?” 

She stepped closer, and against all the noise, he could hear her soft voice perfectly when she said “I'm head over heels for you, you dummy.”

Edward sighed internally. _I can think of nothing but you,_ he wanted to say. He wanted to say a lot to her. He wished to be better at this, at communication, at feelings, at loving. Edward was emotionally constipated, and sometimes borderline rude and he tended to yell and more than often annoy her for everything she did or liked. Unfortunately for her, this was the only way he knew how to love her.

_Madness._

This girl. This feeling was absolutely madness. 

He gripped her fingers, trying to convey all his emotions with his eyes. “I guess we're even, then.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GUYS, this we did it! Today, I bring you this last chapter. Tomorrow, who knows? 
> 
> (Just kidding, I do. There's a Post-Brotherhood fic, a Tattoo Artist/Florist AU and a Mafia AU on the way! I don't know which on will be posted first, sorry) 
> 
> We only have the epilogue left now so, a few notes on that: I haven't started writing it yet but I know it's going to be a long one so unfortunately I'm not going to post it next Saturday. I want to write it calmly, soooo I don't have an exact posting date but I have a deadline. I'll post the epilogue before the 24th! 
> 
> I will say this again, but thank you SO MUCH GUYS! For reading, for commenting, for giving kudos, even you, who never did any of these things but still you took the time to click on this story and read it. You gave your time to read something I wrote and that's enough for me. I will never express my gratitude enough, I hope you all know how much it means to me to have people reading this story that I love. 💖💖


	13. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, my friends! First of all, I’m sorry for the delay, writing this epilogue was harder than I thought. Second, this is trash!! It’s not coherent, well written or in character. If it weren’t for kurizh editing this, it would suck (please round of applauses for her 💖💖). Now, my young padawans, after this crazy week in the wold, here some happy Edwin garbage for you all!!

The place was packed. And hot. And a little crowded, if Edward was being honest. It appeared the number of people in the room was infinite, and if he squeezed his eyes, he could see people being crushed against the wall. Maybe he was exaggerating, but he had warned Al about this, how this was a small place, compared to the number of guests, but his brother was too preoccupied with the band and finding the right rings to actually listen about the size of the ballroom. 

Edward pulled his tie, thinking how much Izumi would kill him if he removed his suit and rolled the sleeves up. He could feel the drop of sweat running down his neck. His ponytail was already messy, and, after three hours inside this place with the sun burning all the walls, Edward was ready to go home. 

He turned his head, eyeing his surroundings, noticing Ling whispering in Lan Fan's ear, his hands intertwined and a ring – _finally_ – on her right hand. Al was somewhere in the crowd with easy smiles and pinky cheeks. Edward knew he was supposed to be in his best behaviour today – Winry had promised _things_ if he played nice – but he couldn't handle anymore shaking someone's hand or pretending to be interested in another boring conversation. He noticed Izumi and Sig talking animatedly with an old couple who probably were Mai's parents, judging by their looks and clothes. 

When Edward looked at his table, his long and now almost empty table, he couldn't help but think _why do I have to sit with him?_ Somehow, during the following hours after the bride and groom kissed, he ended sitted alone with – of all people – Hohenheim. 

The relationship between him and his father wasn't great. Scratch that, that was euphemism. It was terrible, even with the monthly coffee between the brothers and their father, even with Izumi eventually meeting him and inviting him for her annual Labor Day barbecue, even with Edward and Hohenheim meeting almost every week in their mandatory professor's meeting at the university. No, not even that. Edward was never going to be closer to his father, like Al was, but he had learned to tolerate Hohenheim, to ignore him and tune out his voice every time he was nearby. 

Hohenheim was scratching his plate, finishing eating and, from the look on his face, ready to start _again_ the conversation with Edward about a house near the campus – “I'd like to buy it for you, Edward. You're a grown man now and in need of somewhere near work.” “Hoenheim, will you shut up?” – when Mustang showed up, a hand leaning his weight on an empty chair, his tie already lost.

_Why did Al have to invite my boss to his wedding?_

“How are my two favorite professors?” Mustang's voice was too affected for just three hours of party, giving Edward the impression it was more of a show than actually alcohol that made him look like that. Almost thirteen years knowing this jerk made Edward very familiar with Mustang's attitude. 

“Hawkeye is not here, you don't have to lie.” Edward's voice was dull. “We all know you hate us both equally.” 

The table was big enough that Edward sat on the other side of Hohenheim and yet he could hear his father's snort clearly. 

“That's not true,” Mustang continued as he sat, drink in hand. “I have no problem with Professor Hohenheim, you're the one who conducts unsanctioned experiments on a daily basis.”

_How else will the students learn?_

He and Mustang had these discussions often enough for Edward to simply ignore his comment. He would continue with the practical side of the Chemistry course he lectured and Mustang would continue to bully him and look the other way when he accidently blew up a window or destroyed private property. Edward's class was the fullest one in the science building because he was a goddamned good teacher and students liked those things; they liked a teacher who blew up things and taught them about the practical world more than the academic one. Too bad most of them failed thanks to Edward's policy of not helping students with points at the end of the year.

Edward sighed and pushed his chair, the wooden feet making a loud noise with the floor. Normally he would retaliate, calling Mustang a bastard, saying that Edward was the only teacher granted with government funding for his research and even commenting on how Hawkeye would never marry him thanks to his ugly mustache. But today he was too worn out, there were too many things happening at once, this crowded place and the fact Winry said she was going to the toilet twenty minutes ago and had not yet returned, left Edward riled up. 

When he stood up, both men looked at him. 

“Where are you going?” Mustang asked because he knew Edward would completely ignore if it was Hohenheim speaking. 

“Wouldn't you like to know?” Edward closed his black suit, placing his hands on his pockets. At Mustang's surprised look, Edward noticed how rude he was. Feeling shit, he continued lighting his voice. “To find Winry. Why would I look at both of you when I can look at her?” 

Edward heard Mustang chuckle when he turned and started to walk aimlessly around the square tables, his eyes moving everywhere trying to find a blonde head, waving at distance whenever someone called his name. Ten minutes later and after, only after, asking four people about her whereabouts, he found Winry. 

Unlike him, Winry had no problem being the center of attention. She was near the bar, a small group of people, at least eight, circling her, probably asking her questions about ligaments, or her connections with Aruego and Creta, or smiling at her clever answers and some even eyeing her cleavage despite the platinum ring on her left hand.

Edward was already used to this. It was a price that came when she decided to invent awesome incredible artificial limbs for people, with highly developed ligaments and incredible structure. Dominic was too caught up in conversations whenever he went, but Winry? Edward suspected that it had something to do with the blue eyes, and her gorgeous smile and the fact she was a beautiful woman dealing with mechanics on a daily basis, but that was just theory. Maybe Winry was just more approachable than Dominic – the man had grunted at Edward the first five times they met – but Edward had stopped counting how many times they got caught up in situations like this after the eighth time they were stopped on the streets. She was once stopped at their local cafe, the place she and Edward used to go every sunday as a ritual to have brunch – Winry's favorite lemon pie was there – by a young boy who saw her symposium and was in line for getting a new leg. She was stopped at the grocery store near the Campus, at the women's bathroom in a nightclub when she and Paninya went out, and even in an ER the night Al decided it was a good idea to ride a bike in frozen roads and ended up getting twelve stitches on his forehead. 

Edward stayed behind, waiting for her to notice him, a few meters away from her and watching her closely. Just like the other bridesmaids, she was wearing a golden dress with thin straps, long enough for it to pool on the ground when she stopped walking. Mai chose all the dresses for her six bridesmaids, so they were wearing the same dress, but Winry seemed to be glowing. She looked ethereal, like a beacon of light in that ocean of black suits. 

In fact, she reminded Edward of the night they decided to lay on the grass, near the house, and watch a meteor shower that the news promised but never actually happened. It was cold, almost too cold and Edward had initially refused to even step outside the warm house, but Winry smiled so excited that he had given in because Edward had yet to learn how to say no to her. He had pulled a blanket on the wet grass in the open field, opened a bottle of wine, even though it was a Tuesday night and they both had to work early in the morning, and they laid together laughing and naming the stars like they were flowers in their personal garden. 

When his mind focused, Winry was staring at him, right in the middle of the group, smirking secretly. Clearly someone was talking to her, but she chose to ignore them because, when Edward extended his hand towards her, asking silently for her attention, she politely excused herself and walked towards him. Her fingers were cold when she intertwined them with Edward's, he noticed she was shivering. 

Edward pulled her closer, running his hands through her arms, as he kissed her forehead lightly. He would always be mesmerized by how soft her skin was. “Are you cold?” 

She simply shrugged, wrapping her arms around him. Her body has been on and off lately, the five years of late hours collecting their toll. Normally, she was the warm one in their relationship, but recently she was always sneezing and stealing Edward's sweater in the middle of the day. 

“Did you just want to take me away from all those people?” Up close, her eyes were even more blue in the daylight. 

“Yes.” She smiled easily, knowing fully well that there was a monster called jealousy within him. After years together, Edward was confident Winry knew him really well. There were only a few times he actually managed to keep his jealousy for himself, and although he never said anything directly, he was sure that his angry face speaked volumes. He was used to guys staring at her for too long and sometimes even hitting on her, but that didn't mean he liked it. “But also, food is about to be served. I assumed you were hungry.” 

“How did you know?” 

“Didn't you eat pasta an hour ago? If you take too long to eat, you'll rip the closest person's head off. That's usually me.” 

“Oh my god, you're unbearable.” 

“Hm,” he pulled her hand with him as he started walking, “but I'm right, aren't I?” 

Winry shook her head and just smiled. When they reached their table, the number of people had multiplied. Not only Mustang and Hohenheim were sitting but Ling and Lan Fan sat near each other and even Paninya had taken place while talking to Hawkeye. How those two became friends, Edward had no idea, but he had a feeling Winry had something to do with it. The food was being served, waiters running through the tables, when a voice caught Edward's attention. 

“Isn't it nice of Al and Mai to invite us to their wedding?” Ling's voice was perfectly innocent. It was so well played that it took Edward to notice Hawkeye's hidden smile to understand where he was getting at. As usual, Winry was way ahead of him. 

“It's not that we didn't invite you, Ling.” Winry's tone was a patient one, the one she used with Edward whenever he wanted to beat the shit out of their neighbour for yelling at Den. “We didn't invite anyone.” 

“That's not true,” Paninya was swallowing a whole bread, her mouth full. “You guys invited your parents.”

“Humpf,” Hohenheim cleared his throat and raised his hand, like a five year old in class. “Excuse me, I wasn't invited.”

 _That’s because you’re not a parent_ , Edward wanted to say, but instead he blurted “I wonder why that is” when he felt Winry pinch his tight the moment the words came out of his mouth. He knew he was pushing his luck, but the urge to irritate and bully Hohenheim was too strong. 

“It wasn't like that, Mr. Ho. You were out of town and we just wanted to do something quick.” Winry's voice was calm, easing any concern Hohenheim might have. Edward rubbed Winry's tight beneath the table, her body warmth radiating through the thin layer of the golden dress. 

“How was it, anyway?” Hawkeye asked, before the family quarrel could continue, an easy smile and a glint of curiosity on her eyes. “How did you propose, Edward?” 

“Ah, you know.” Edward could feel the tip of his ears burning, all the eyes turned to him, including Winry's. He met her blue ones when he answered, “I just asked.”

* * *

_Edward was sitting on the kitchen table, books scrambled all over the place. He hated working in the kitchen but his office was still in the making, the walls were being painted and the book shelf installed. He hated reformation, especially in a house that size, but since he and Winry moved in together to the old farm house just outside Central – it was a ten minute drive to the University campus, with a lot of land nearby, and just a few neighbours around – they started renovating the whole house._

_Edward heard the sound of keys, then the heavy front door being opened and shut. He looked up, already waiting for Winry's slim figure to approach him. She was carrying multiple bags, full of vegetables and bread, the weekly shopping, and her toolbox._

_“You won't believe the rain outside. It feels like the sky is falling. I'm completely drenched, I'll have to shower as soon as I'm done storing this.” She said after kissing him hello. She walked around the kitchen, placing the paper bags on the counter and started to unload them. Edward eyed her as he leaned against the chair, his arm sluging against the armrest. He hadn't talk to her all day and he missed her – just like in college, her hours were crazy and sometimes he spent days without seeing her even though they lived together._

_They'd been doing this for so long that he didn’t measure in months anymore. Edward had no track of how many of Izumi's birthdays Winry had gone with him or how many Christmases he had spent with Pinako. But the life of the two of them, sharing the bills and figuring out who is doing the shopping this week or buying new sheets for the guest room because Al's spending the weekend with them… that was pretty new. And exciting._

_Life together with Winry was even better than what they were doing in college. Edward heard from the few bad male examples – Mustang and one unsolicited advice from Hohenheim – and the only one good he had – Sig – that living together was hard. Difficult. Exasperating. But Edward didn't agree. It took too long for him and Winry to be like that. It took them years._

_Edward had to finish his major and start his Ph.D. Winry had to finish her project with Dominic, release the paper and put it out there in the world. For a period of their lives, they lived very much apart. Edward had to be in Creta for months developing his own research, while Winry stayed in Central. And when he finally arrived, she had to go back to Rush Valley and later Aruego. It was almost two years of this, meeting only on the weekends, seeing each other in the holidays and thousands of hours of phone calls during the nights._

_Once the project was finally done, finally ready to be implemented on people, after Winry had gone to several seminars and proved to the world they could work, after she came to Central, for good this time, with no date to leave at least in the near future, Edward had grabbed her hand, drove her to the old farm house – that he found in a newspaper ad while looking for a part time job for Al – where he looked at her hesitantly and said “this could be ours, if you wanted.”_

_And thank the heavens, she did._

_After finishing his Ph.D, Mustang offered him a position in the Chemistry department – which gave him a pretty good income and bonus – and Winry stayed under Dominic's wings, opening her automail shop in Central. It was a natural course for them to be together, for good._

_“You won't believe my day. I had to make three port installations and started to work on a hand! You have any idea how hard it is to build hands? And fingers? And nerve conductors? My back is killing me, but it was worth it. The man who contacted us, he went to one of my Seminars in Baschool and that's how he contacted me. And he has been waiting for this, too. Apparently, there's a waiting list? But I'm not handling this, Dominic's people are the ones who book the patients and – Ed, are you paying attention?”_

_He wasn't. Not like she wanted or she deserved. Her voice was more of a background noise because the only thing going through his mind was his brother's phone call, two hours ago._

_“Al is quitting med school.”_

_“What?” Winry turned, her eyes meeting his. She turned so fast she almost tripped on Den, her hair swinging in motion.“What do you mean quitting?”_

_Edward sighed, feeling tired.“Exactly that. He called me two hours ago, to say he won't be attending anymore.”_

_“What did you say? Did he give you a reason?”_

_“What do you think I did? I yelled at him for minutes, but he just yelled back and then he hung up on me. Then I called Izumi, but she didn't pick up. So, yeah. I don't know the reason why he's doing this. I don't know what's going on with him, honestly.”_

_Winry leaned back, resting her hips against the counter, waiting for him to continue._

_“This wasn't supposed to happen, Win. Al is better than all of us, he's supposed to have everything. And now he's quitting? To do what? Feed stray cats? Work at Sig's Butchery? Nothing wrong with that, but I know that's not what he wants. And I don't know what to say, what to do. I feel like I have been distancing from him, since I moved in. I try to talk to him and he doesn't listen anymore. I feel like I'm talking to a wall.” Edward rubbed his eyes, sighing.“Apparently, he's going back to Dublith, to stay there. For good.”_

_“I know you think you can fix everything on your own,” Winry looked at him before starting to pace, crossing the kitchen as she speaked. “But I can help here. First, we call Mustang, he's the principal of Central Uni and even if you don't like it, he's kind of your friend, so I'm pretty sure he'll listen to you. Tell him Al was high on drugs or alcohol or had a chemical imbalance, I don't know. We'll think of something, but call him and tell him Al is staying at school.”_

_Winry had a focused look on her face, eyebrows scrunched, her eyes firmly trained on the black and white title on the floor, with her head leaned down. Her hair had grown a little, after all the years, but she never let it be longer than her shoulders. She still had the earrings, still had the easy smiles and sharp tongue that made him fall for her. She still looked beautiful in the early mornings, with the golden sun framing her cheeks and in the nights, when she crawled into their bed, exhausted after a hard day of work, and layed on top of Ed, even when he had an open book on his hands or when he was reading his students’ papers, and stayed there for a long time, before getting up and taking a shower, like he was her personal charger._

_“And then, we'll drive to Dublith and take him out of Izumi's house. I'm pretty sure she'll be on our side on this. And then, we bring him to Central and we'll lock him up in a room and we'll take turns. I'll talk to him first, then we can bring Mai, and Ling, and Paninya, and if that doesn't work, we'll call Miss Riza because she once told me – that night we went out for drinks, remember? – she almost dropped school and how people convinced her not to and that was the better decision. And if_ that _doesn't work, then you'll beat some sense into him.”_

_Edward wondered if Winry would open a hole on the floor or step on Den's tail. After she had finished the project and started to travel more, Socket ended up staying with Al so frequently, that when Winry grabbed the cat, after weeks of travel, the fur thing scratched her hand and bit her, as if resented Winry for abandoning her. When they decided to leave the apartment and come to the farm house, on the edge of the city, Socket chose to stay with Al. Winry had been heart broken for a little while – Edward felt completely lost because what could possibly fill the cat's void?– when one day, walking towards the neighborhood, they found Den, just a few months old, bleeding on the side road after a car ran him over. Winry took it personally to take care of the dog and once he was fine enough, installed the automail on his left leg. It had been Winry's first automail installation – when she brought it to Dominic he first refused, but seeing the opportunity of training the installation in a living being, he took it – and a complete success. Whenever Edward walked around the grounds, people would marvel at the dog, curious about the leg and Edward would proudly answer that it was a Rockbell craftsmanship._

_“And if worse comes to worst, we'll drive him everyday. We'll take him to Central, and then we make sure he watches his classes. But if you think he'll ditch, we'll camp out there to make sure he goes. We can work on a schedule like that, I'll take the morning classes – the shop is busiest in the afternoon, so Dominic can handle the morning – and you'll take the night classes. Your own classes only start in the afternoon right?” She stopped, finally looking at him, her eyes excited like she fixed all their problems. “I know there's a few things to figure out and maybe the kidnapping part is a bit dramatic, but either way Al is_ not _quitting med school.”_

_Edward remembered one morning, years ago, laying beside her, dawn breaking into the sky, with Winry sleeping next to him, her soft whimpers on his ear, and he had been thinking ‘How the fuck did I get so lucky?’_

_And in that moment, with Winry coming up with the craziest plan to help his brother, he couldn't help but think the same._

_“What?” She asked after his prolonged silence._

_“Marry me, Win.”_

_She looked at him, eyes open, mouth agape, clearly not expecting_ that _after her monologue on how to save Al, but Edward couldn't help himself._

_“What?” She managed to blurt._

_Edward waited a second before he said, slowly “Winry, will you–?”_

_“Yes.” Her words cut through him like a lighting bolt._

_“You don't have to answer so–“_

_“Yes.”_

_“You can think about it, maybe you'll change your mind–”_

_“No.” She was breathing fast, a little smile on the corner of her lips. Edward's chest felt like it would explode, his heart beating fast. A gigantic smile started to spread through his face._

_She said yes, she fucking said_ yes. 

_Edward never gave much thought about asking for Winry's hand, they had been together for so long, they lived together for almost a year, and it was just the natural conclusion of things. She never mentioned the want to walk down the aisle or for a ring on her finger. Winry had always been practical about things, and once they had settled in the farm house, Edward just assumed that was it._

_But now–_

_He_ loved _her with all his heart. He loved her for many, many things, but this… Winry was ready to do anything in her power to help him, to keep Al in med school, because she knew how much that meant for Edward and for Alphonse, even if the idiot had forgotten how much he loved medicine. He couldn't help to ask this awesome girl to have his name and share his life._

_Leave it to Edward to blurt out a proposal instead of a grand gesture._

_“Let's do this.” Edward said suddenly, excitement on the edge of his voice._

_“What, now?” Winry startled._

_“Well, not now. I mean, it's ten p.m, I doubt the city hall is open. But maybe Friday? It's enough time for Sig, Izumi and Al to come from Dublith by train and I can ask Al to pick up Pinako from Rush Valley. I mean, I like my dick very much and If I marry that woman's only granddaughter in secret she'll castrate me.” Winry's laugh filled the room, warming Edward's inside. “I'll take a sick leave from the University – I'm pretty sure I can convince my department – and I'm sure Dominic will lend you off, and then we'll go to city hall. We can have dinner here, in our house.”_

_She waited in silence, pondering all his statements. As the silence grew longer, Edward's nervousness grew with it. Maybe his idea sucked._

_“Or we can plan a big wedding, if that's what you want,” He heard himself say, ready to make her happy. “We can have a big party and marry in a church–”_

_“No,” Winry smiled, her cheeks red. “I don't want a big wedding, I just want you. And our family. And Den.”_

_Edward stood up, leaned down and kissed her softly, her lips warm. “Me too.”_

_After a beat, she said “The only problem is, where do I find a wedding dress in two days?”_

_“You're Winry Rockbell. I once saw you eat fifteen sugarplums in a row in that all-you-can-eat brunch. I'm pretty sure you can find a dress by Friday.”_

_Winry chuckled, her smile shining like the sun.”Let's do this, then.”_

* * *

Hawkeye, as seeing through him clearly, questioned skeptically “Really? You just asked? Nothing more?”

“Yep. And she said yes. And we married two days later. That's it.” Edward shrugged, feeling overwhelmed by all the eyes on him. 

“You really don't know how to be romantic, right?” 

“Who has a two day engagement? Jesus, Ed.” 

Edward raised his hands, asking the waiter for a beer, already knowing it was going to be a long afternoon with these people talking endlessly in his ear. 

“You didn't want to give her time to get cold feet, right?” Ling smirked, making everyone laugh. 

“Nah, I think it's cute,” Paninya added, while pushing a fork filled with meat on her mouth. “I mean, this wedding is great but imagine the time and all the problems they had, in order to throw a party like this.”

“I can imagine all the fights between the groom and bride about colours and food.”

“Jeez, Al and Mai, who are by far the most calm people I've met, have fought constantly about this wedding, imagine Ed and Winry...”

“What do you mean? I've never seen them fight” Hohenheim intervened, for the first time since the talk started. Just the sound of his voice irritated Edward. 

“Yeah,” Hawkeye turned to both of them. “You guys don't fight much, right?”

“What?” Paninya almost spit. Winry chuckled lightly next to him, fighting the whole situation amusing. Edward preferred not to have their love life discussed in front of them like that, but this was an atypical day, so he ignored them. 

“Have you met them? They fight constantly!” Ling said. 

“No, they _argue_ constantly, about silly, little things.” Lan Fan contradicted “But I've never seen them fight like, big fights, over big things.”

“Yeah, me neither.” 

Winry looked at him quietly, probably thinking about the only big fight they had, and said, “We do fight. All couples fight.”

* * *

_“Stop treating me like a child!”_

_“Then stop acting like one. You don't know enough about this to make an informed opinion–”_

_“Oh, my god! Just because you are, I don't know, a child prodigy doesn't mean you know everything, Ed. I can make my own decisions.”_

_“I'm trying to help you.” He wasn't. Not really. He was just letting his emotions take over him, like he always did._

_“No, you are_ not _. You're trying to change my mind. You don't want me to go–”_

_“Yeah, I don't!” Even Edward was startled by how much he was screaming now. “I don't want my girlfriend across the globe, away from me for God knows how long, just because some random guy– ”_

_“He's the current Aruego's Secretary of Health and Human Services.”_

_“Invited her to go meet his fancy hospital–”_

_“He offered me a full time position in the Trauma Department. Do you know how many automails I can build?”_

_“Well, I don't care about that!” Winry stepped back, startled by his explosion._

_Edward sighed and rubbed his face. Ever since the simposium, the one where half the globe came down to watch Winry and Dominic introduce the new generation of automail designs, ever since she met him three hours later saying she received a number of job positions in Xing, Aruego and Amestris, ever since she started to talk about it almost everyday, sometimes twice a day – “Aruego's General Hospital has a whole department seated for automails, Ed. You have any idea what I can do with that? They have the gears and the theory, I just need to start teaching the equations and the applied science behind the nerve connections to the metal components to the human bodies, but I don't know how long that would take, maybe four years?”– Edward had been grumpy, snapping at everyone and everything, and, one time, almost breaking a kid's arm in the fight club._

_Edward always knew Winry would succeed. He knew Winry was brilliant, and awesome, and too big and bright for just the academic world. He knew companies would gladiate to get her. But he didn't expect this. Her, leaving him behind. Moving to another country and maybe never coming back. Forgetting about him. Forgetting about_ them _. Even with letters, phone calls and travels, four years was too long. And it was impossible for Edward – even if he wanted – to leave all his studies behind and follow her. Too many people depended on him._

_Edward understood how much Automail meant to Winry, so he would never ask. He would never force her to choose between their relationship and her job. Because deep down, even with three years of kissing her, and loving her, and sharing his life with her, he was afraid of the answer._

_He knew he was being unfair in this fight. Maybe a little petty. Maybe he should put himself in her position; if some other secretary of a major country offered him something as great as this, what would he choose? What would he do? He knew he had no business in holding her back, especially because if she said no, if she refused this opportunity because he made her, she would resent him for the rest of her life. The only thing Edward could do was wait._

_But he hated waiting. So, he did the next best thing he knew._

_Fight._

_“What are you saying, Ed?” Winry's voice was lethal, low and dark. Her quiet tone scared him more than when she was screaming at him._

_“I'm saying I care about you. I'm saying…” He tried to find words, tried to connect his brain to make her understand what he was_ not _saying because he was a shit in this verbal communication thing._

_Edward felt tired. Exhausted. They never had a fight like this, a fight that depending on the outcome could change their relationship. He knew he should stop, step back, leave the room and only come back when they both had cooled down. But he was hurting in a way not even he could understand._

_His words were cold as steel when he said, “I'm saying you should do whatever you want, Winry. Whether I'll be here or not when you come back.”_

_She clearly was not expecting that. The shocked expression knocked the wind out of Edward. It felt like he had slapped her. He instantly regretted his words. He didn't mean that, not really, but it was too late, the words were already out of his mouth. Winry's eyes filled with tears, but none fell. The room was so silent for a few seconds that Edward could hear his own beating heart._

_Even though Winry's voice was quiet and sober, it cut through Edward's chest like a hot knife. “You know what? Sometimes, I really hate you Ed.”_

_Edward turned away from her, his hands bowled in fists and he didn't look when she started to collect her things from his bedroom, grabbing her phone by his nightstand and storming out. He was massaging his eyes, trying to keep the angry tears away from his face, taking deep breaths and counting to a reasonable number before going after his brother seeking advice, when he noticed she was still in the room. Standing on the doorway, her back turned to him._

_Her shoulders were rigid, her whole body radiating stiffness. Edward focused on her uncovered neck, the one he kissed this morning while she poured coffee for herself._

_She didn't turn, only mumbled quietly “That's not true, by the way.”_

_And Edward just said, "I know" before she left the room._

* * *

Edward remembered that fight like it was yesterday. It was one of the very few times – so few he could count in one hand – he thought he and Winry wouldn't make it. Wouldn't be able to walk through the fire and make it out alive. It was only after he talked to Al, put on his big boy pants and thought carefully about how to express himself, Edward went after Winry and they had a three hour talk about the whole situation. Once he wasn't screaming and being a minimum coherent, Winry understood what he was feeling, and he understood what _she_ was feeling, that they both came to an agreement. 

Winry still went to Aruego, she lived there and worked in the General Hospital, with the Secretary – unfortunately, for Edward's jealousy – but only for one year. It wasn't easy, at first. Nothing ever really is. They had to learn how to communicate with words, other than body language; they had to schedule phone calls due to the time zone and their huge amount of work; they had to learn how to slow down on weekends because according the nurse from Aruego's Hospital _yes, you can get an infection if you have too much sex, sweetie_ – Winry had teased and laughed for days, because Edward had red cheeks after the nurse teased him about it. They managed to travel between the two countries on weekends and extended holidays, and Edward's phone bill was astronomically high at the end of the year, but it was worth it. 

“Well,” Mustang's unpleasant voice brought Edward back to the present. “I don't know about the 'all couples'. Me and Hawkeye barely fight” 

“Yes, because she's scary and you're always afraid of her.” The collective laugh gave Edward the impression people thought he was kidding. He had seen Mustang and Hawkeye argue once about the academic budget for the public pool and Edward could swear Mustang was crying – although he couldn't be certain since he was hearing behind the door. 

Winry laughed freely by his side, clearly not buying it too. She and Hawkeye became quite friends after the University Ball three winters before, and they never lost contact ever since. Edward knew she had been to the farm house a few times – once with Mustang for a night with wine and pizza and another to take a look at a Den – and that she had a habit of growing plants on her house – Winry was always talking about how the new orchid she just bought was going to look lovely in Hawkeye's apartment – but other than that, Edward didn't have much contact with the blonde. 

“Didn't you two argue about New Year's eve?” Paninya, clearly, didn't care about talking with her mouth full. She was, again, eating like a truck driver. 

“Oh no,” Winry waved her hand at the waiter while answering her friend. “That was Ling and Lan Fan.” When no one understood where she was going, she continued “Don't you guys remember? They had a huge fight – huge in terms of voice volume not importance – because Ling wanted to give the guests a flamingo as a gift. And Lan Fan wanted to give a puppy.” 

“Who won?” Hohenehim said, and Edward, for the tenth time, questioned what his father was doing at that table. Couldn't he just walk around the room looking uncomfortable and drunk, like everyone else? 

“Oh, neither. Al and I convinced them to give candies instead.”

“Good shift.” Hawkeye answered as Winry mouthed a muted _I know_. “Did you guys go to that party?” 

“Hm, yeah.” Edward cleared his throat and tried not to blush. “We did.”

“Really?” Ling's voice was full of shit. His face barely contained his sarcasm and Edward could swear he saw a glint in his eyes. “I don't remember you guys there.”

“What do you mean?” Lan Fan turned to her fiance, clearly lost. Winry chuckled softly and Edward wanted to scream at her. This was her fault. “They were there. Winry even brought that Aruego wine as a present.”

“Oh,” The little shit continued, almost laughing “I must be mistaken. I just don't remember them during the fireworks.”

* * *

_Two hours into the party, almost a bottle of champagne later, Winry was flushed, easy going and kissing Edward too profoundly for a public setting. Usually, they were more reserved, more quiet in public. Edward was never comfortable with any display of affection where other people could see, so he kept to himself. As always, he had only one beer but Winry was light weighted, she was happy and, as she once told him after she drank wine in a night out with his brother and Mai, probably horny._

_They kissed in a dark hallway inside Ling's house, away from prying eyes, his hands on her hips grabbing her black minidress a little too tight, her body glued to his. She started to bite his neck and it was enough for Edward to grab her hand pushing her inside the closest door, that happend to be Ling's study._

_“We really shouldn't be doing this.” Edward's voice was rasped and rough. His words were punched between his loud breaths. He tried to concentrate, to numb the party noises behind the door, but he couldn't. He tried to keep it quiet, to steady his hips, so they didn't make too loud noises when connected with her tights strongly. He could bet if someone walked down that hallway, they could hear the slap between their skins. "At least, not here."_

_“Are you sure about that?” Winry's teeth nibbed his earlobe, her voice even more sensual after four glasses of expensive champagne. Every time he thrusted into her, the table where she sat shook, the contents almost falling. Edward leaned back and stared at Winry, drinking her in._

_She was a sight to behold._

_Winry had her legs wrapped around him, her tight small black dress – the one he used to have the filthiest dreams after seeing her on Al’s party that first time – hitched up enough so Edward could fuck her properly. One strap was falling down her shoulders, her lower lip trapped between her teeths and her eyes–_

_Her eyes were beautiful._

_Little oceans filled with lust and love._

_Sometimes, Edward was caught up with love for her,_ _like an empty bottle wandering the ocean and suddenly gets hit by a wave_ _. He felt like his heart would burst on his chest. She'd slept next to him, almost every night, and yet he still dreamed of her._

_He crashed her lips, overwhelmed by these feelings. Her hands grabbed his hair, the golden locks falling from his ponytail. No matter how many times they did this, Winry would always wrap her fingers around his hair, leaving a messy bun._

_It’s not like this was a big deal._

_Just because there was a whole party behind them, with at least two hundred guests outside, and they were currently almost breaking Ling's expensive wooden desk and Edward was pretty sure he forgot to lock the door and they were supposed to be out there, with their friends, hearing the countdown for the New Year, it didn’t mean it was a big deal._

_Them._

_Together, like this._

_Forgetting about the world, inside their personal bubble._

_Edward honestly didn’t give a fuck._

_He rather very much be anywhere else, including inside this dusty room, with Winry and only her, than socializing with those people –“Friends, Ed. They are your friends, remember that? I’ve seen pictures of you looking eight years young with Ling, I think you can call him that” “Winry, he’s insufferable. Just because he hangs around all the time, doesn’t mean we are friends” ”Yes, it does.” –. If it was his choice, Edward would be doing exactly what he was doing now, trapped between Winry’s thighs as he heard her little moans on his ears every time he thrusted too hard, except he would be somewhere else, where the risk of being caught was zero to none._

_He had known Ling for years now – more than he liked, to be frank – but he had never come to one of his New Year’s parties. Edward was always in Dublith, or maybe traveling somewhere else. In the few times he was actually in Central, he lied saying he had pneumonia – “I know you’re lying Ed, I saw you swimming in the public pool this morning.” – so he never attended. He wouldn’t this year either, if Winry hadn’t been personally invited and her smile was so bright and excited that Edward couldn’t say no. Even after years, Edward always thought Ling had a thing for Winry, but the xinguese never mentioned it and Edward refused to blatantly acknowledge anything._

_His brain had hit over halt when he saw her in the black dress earlier, he had a boner almost instantly and Edward had to produce disturbed mental images – Professor Knox on his underwear – to keep his hands for himself. Not to grab her like the animal that he clearly was and to deflate his erection so anyone wouldn’t notice._

_He had wanted to fuck her all night, but he didn’t think he would be doing that before midnight, amidst the party._

_“Hey,” Winry’s hands were gently on his cheeks, her palms soft on each side of his face, eyes searching for him. “Where did you go, just now?”_

_Edward smiled softly, turned his face so he could kiss the palm of her hand. “Just thinking about you,” He leaned down and kissed her deeply, grabbing her thighs and hearing her soft moan on his lips when he thrusted a bit hard. “In this small black dress, with your tits almost falling out.”_

_Edward bit her lips roughly, resuming his thrusts. She was wetter now, wetter than before. If it wasn’t the dark room, Edward would probably see that her tights were dripping. She was warm, so fucking warm, beneath him, a contrast with the marble she was sitting on._

_Winry smirked. She reached up and pulled the neckline of her dress. Edward didn't know anything about fashion, not a single thing, but he knew, at least, that a minidress tight like that didn't fit a bra, he groaned when he saw he was right. The strap fell on Winry's shoulder and just the mere sight of her pink nipples was enough for Edward to be iron hard._

_He wrapped one arm around her waist, the other grabbing her thigh as he sped up._

_“We'll miss the celebrations.” Edward moaned on her lips._

_“Will we?” Winry leaned back, her hands sprawled on the marble supporting her body, head thrown back, the expanse white skin of the column of her throat exposed. She looked delighted, as happy as anyone could be. "Then I guess you should make me come."_

_Fuck._

_She looked gorgeous. The easy smile on her face, her dress barely containing her breasts. Her earrings shone whenever the street light poured over the window. Her legs could go on for miles, wrapped around Edward's waist. Edward imprinted that image on his brain, hoping that twenty years from now he'd remember this party._

_This girl._

_Only this girl could make Edward enjoy every second at a New Year's party._

_Edward slowed down, just a little, so he could lean down and kiss her bare neck softly. By now, he already knew the intricate responses of Winry's body. Too many early mornings and night ins, too many lazy Sundays spent lying around on her bed made him extremely aware of the ins and outs of her body. He knew exactly what he had to do to leave her moaning and shivering on his arms._

_He barely touched her, his tongue whispering on her neck like a butterfly touch as his right hand slid gently inside her tight… then she was grabbing him, her arms tightening around him, she hid her face on his neck as she came. Her teeth sunk into the soft skin of his shoulder as she tried to muffle her moans, and he had to shut his lips to avoid screaming in pain. In the high of pleasure Winry had no idea how hard she bit and more often than not, Edward had little purple dots all over his skin._

_He felt the way she gave in to him, her body becoming pliant and lazy, tired. He pushed himself off of her, tucking himself into his pants, wincing when the zipper touched his sensitive member. Edward pulled the hem of his shirt, trying to hide his obvious state, when Winry rose up, pulling her dress right._

_Her voice was shaky. "You didn't–"_

_"That's ok." He tucked her hair behind her ear._

_"Do you want me to… Should I–" She motioned at his bulge and Edward just shook his head._

_"No," Edward leaned, kissing her slowly, running his thumbs on her cheeks. She was warm and beautiful beneath him. "We’ll continue when we get home."_

_He helped her get off the table, fixing her dress. Winry tried to straighten her hair, but with her blushed cheeks and Edward's sweaty face, everyone outside would know what they were doing in there._

_A loud whistle cut through the night and seconds later a bright flash illuminated the entire room. The fireworks were bursting in the dark sky, a show of brightness and sound, but Edward could only notice how they reflected in Winry's blue eyes. He wanted for nothing else at that moment._

_I love you, pretty girl, he thought._

_She smiled, the most beautiful smile in the fucking world, as if she could read his mind, and whispered on his lips "Happy New Year, Ed."_

* * *

“Oh, wait,” Mustang's voice snapped Edward's mind. “Wasn't that the party where the police were called because there was a 'fireball shooting from the sky'?”

Paninya nodded, laughing out loud. 

“Is that a euphemism?" Hohenheim's complete lack of understanding how parties and, most of all, Ling's character – because anyone who knew the xingese _knew_ that was very much _not_ an euphemism – made Edward actually laugh. 

“We wish,” Hawkeye sighed, “Ling's parties are.. how can I say? _Known_ for this type of thing, around campus.” 

Yes, they were. Years ago, at Ling's birthday party, the one Edward had actually the courage to kiss Winry while also speaking a bunch of bullshit about another girl – _God,_ he was the _worst,_ how Winry put up with him, Edward had no idea – there were rumors about a loose pig and flamingos walking around the campus in the next morning. 

“They are known to give me headaches for two weeks.” 

“Rich people are crazy.”

“Yep.”

Ling and Lan Fan laughed softly, not caring in the slightest about the insults. 

This discussion was almost a script, Edward noticed. One they followed every time their gang was reunited. They'd mock Ling for the extravagant parties, Lan Fan would counter with _that's how it's done in Xing, it's not our fault you amestrians are boring_ , Al would recall an embarrassing memory from the brothers childhood and Paninya would make fun of Edward for the next month; Edward would sigh loudly and feign an annoyance, and Winry would laugh cheerfully and kiss his cheek to cheer him up. 

It was nice to have these small rituals among them. 

To have a home, Edward supposed. 

A few minutes later, when the orchestra began to play again, Al and Mai joined in the center of the room, surrounded closely by Izumi and Sig, and the rest of their table followed them. Even Hohenheim, who was more introverted than Edward, asked Paninya for a dance. He was left alone with Winry for the first time since that morning, when they both had family duties – help the bride getting dressed, pick up the cake from the bakery and make sure nothing was out of place in order to keep Izumi calm – and he was only able to catch a breath and look at her once the ceremony was over. 

Winry didn't even ask for a dance knowing very well Edward would more likely walk around naked than swing her around the dance floor. She resumed her position, sliding in the chair and leaning her body against Edward. Once the waiter brought their dessert, Winry finished her slice of cake – chocolate with strawberries, Al's favorite – with her usual enthusiasm, and then Edward's, then, with a satisfied sighed, she placed the fork delicately on the plate, taking Edward's hand in both of hers, guiding it to her lap. 

Under the table, his fingers spread over her abdomen. Edward felt the radiating warmth of her skin beneath his palm, as they traded a secret smile. 

He wanted for nothing, only the small universe they were about to create.   
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can find me in my tumblr darkpersonapeace 💖


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